The Bump in the Case
by SabreDae
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE WEDDING OF THE CENTURY Now married, Kate and Rick Castle have to navigate the ups and downs of their new life, how they fit in at the precinct and what their relationship means for the future. Cases, family, everything changes when they hit the big bump.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, sequel! I'm just going to shut up and let you read. Though one quick thing…**

**DISCLAIMER: In no way do I claim ownership of recognisable characters. They all belong in the (somewhat) safe hands of Andrew Marlowe and Co. and ABC. **

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><p><em>Previously…<em>

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><p>"<em>What have we got?"<em>

"_Two victims in the penthouse apartment, one James Cleaver and his wife, Monica. One of the neighbours from the floor below called 911 after hearing shots fired. When uniforms got here, they found the two bodies but the perp had gone. While they were searching the apartment, they heard crying coming from one of the cupboards and found the Cleavers' four year old daughter hiding in there, the room locked from the outside."_

"_Their kid was there the whole time?" Kate asked, astonished and almost sick to her stomach at the thought of an innocent, defenceless four year old girl hearing her parents being murdered._

"_Yeah," Esposito answered. "And there's something else…"_

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><p>Ryan and Esposito shared a grim look before the latino detective said, "While looking into the girl's family to find someone to take her, we found out she was adopted."<p>

Kate nodded, silently wondering why the boys were looking steadily at her with worry in their eyes.

"Her biological mother is, well, it's Rachel Winters, Beckett."

She'd been dealt a physical blow, one that had her mind reeling. "What?"

"She's Rachel's daughter, that's why Gates wants you in on this. We're thinking that this is too coincidental to be, well a coincidence," Ryan explained softly, scrutinising Kate's face. They didn't want this to be another case that dragged her down the rabbit hole. Before they could stop her, she was rushing up the stairs, not bothering to hang around for the elevator.

Out of breath, she burst into the room, forgetting all about her normal survey of the crime scene, and gasped, "Lanie, tell me."

"This is just preliminary of course, but the size of the wounds on both bodies suggest maybe a .45. The wound here," Lanie indicated a bloody circle on the front of Monica Cleaver's shirt, to the left of her heart, with the end of her pen before continuing, "probably would have been fatal. She'd have bled out in minutes. Unfortunately, Mr Cleaver here on the other hand, suffered multiple shots before this one here probably punctured his lungs and caused him to drown in his own blood."

Kate was drawn out of her gloomy thoughts by a quiet whimper and a snivel coming from another room in the penthouse apartment. Leaving Lanie with the bodies, she headed into the other room, filled with growing unease as the sobs got louder.

"What's going on? Why's she still here?" Kate demanded of the uniform sitting with the Cleaver's little girl the second she caught sight of her.

The young uniform looked up as Kate crossed the room and crouched in front of the little girl. "Detective, my sergeant tasked me with keeping her here-"

"-This is a crime scene and you know as well as I do what's on the other side of that door and how upsetting this must be for her." Even if the girl hadn't been crying it was obvious she had experienced something traumatic. She frowned at the man, wondering how callous he could be. The first thing the officers should have done when they found the girl was have her checked over by paramedics before whisking her out of there. Ignoring the young uniform, she tilted her head until she was looking straight into the girl's tearful eyes. "Hi, I'm Kate, can you tell me your name?"

It took a few snuffles and attempts before Kate finally caught her whisper.

"Madeline, I'm a detective with the city police force. I'm really sorry but you can't stay here. Do you understand?" After a single nod from her, Kate yelled out for the Medical Examiner, requesting as soon as Lanie poked her head around the doorframe that she cover the bodies to avoid any further upset for Madeline when Kate was escorting her out. Whilst Lanie roped in some of CSU to help her drape sheets over the bodies of Madeline's parents, Kate tried to made idle talk with the girl. "How old are you, Madeline?"

"Four," she mumbled, not quite meeting Kate's eyes, instead looking past her at the stars and moon pattern on the carpet of her bedroom.

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><p>He strode out of the elevator, his eyes immediately looking for Kate's sun-bleached hair and the blue coat she'd had in her hand luggage in amongst the many desks of the bullpen. Without really thinking, Castle headed towards Esposito and Ryan when he saw them standing outside the breakroom.<p>

"Hey guys."

"Castle," they said together, both nodding in perfect synchronicity. Sometimes Rick marvelled at how coordinated their movements were and chuckled at the mental picture he had of them competing in the Olympics in the synchronised diving events. Those tiny speedos just weren't Javi's thing.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked, his eyes flicking to look through the breakroom window before returning to Castle as he finally stopped in front of them.

"Kate texted," he answered with a shrug. "Where is she by the way?" He glanced around the bullpen again, wondering if he'd somehow missed her, before craning his neck to see between the two detectives. His heart stopped when he caught sight of her, sitting on the floor with one of the cutest children he'd seen since Alexis was first in his arms. Giving the boys a curious looks before his wife and the young girl claimed his gaze again, he murmured, "What's going on?"

"Beckett-sorry Castle's, keeping our little friend there entertained until a social worker comes to collect her since she's got no other family members to take her

He was mesmerised watching her interact with Madeline, so consumed by the image that he barely heard Esposito giving him the facts of the case. They were colouring, he noticed, though what Kate had drawn he couldn't tell from the angle he was stood at, since she was sat sideways. The four year old girl though had obviously drawn a picture of her family.

He couldn't help imagining a little girl just like her with a headful of brown curls and hazel eyes coming into his office in her mother's arms to present him with a drawing just like it, showing him, Kate, Alexis, her Gram and Pop and a big dog, something that could join all the other pictures he would have pinned up to decorate his office. No more spiralling staircases or lions would be needed.

With the blinds of the room pulled up, his view of Kate chatting away to the silent girl was uninterrupted, but he could only see her mouth moving; he couldn't hear the words she's saying. Without really knowing what he was doing, his hand reached out for the door handle, twisting it open.

Kate looked up at the noise, smiling gently at the sight of him hovering in the doorway. "Hey, Castle. Maddie, this is my husband, Rick."

"Maddie? That's funny, Kate has a friend called Maddie and she's got blonde hair just like you. Did she tell you?" Rick asked, coming into the room and closing the door behind him as Maddie nodded shyly. He perched on the edge of a chair where he could see Kate's sketch of an elephant and Maddie's picture of her family.

He was mostly silent, content to watch and listen to Kate interacting with Madeline. He was amazed by how good she was with her. Although Maddie was obviously retreating into herself, hardly talking, somehow Kate was able to continue to draw answers out of her. She was going to be a wonderful mother one day. Rick had known that for a long time, now he just wished it would be one day soon.

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><p>"Beckett," Espo said, popping his head through around the break room door. "The social worker's here."<p>

"Thanks," Kate replied as she got to her feet before looking back down at Madeline. "Maddie, I'm just going to be out there for a few minutes," she told her, pointing out the break room window, "but Rick's gonna sit with you. Is that okay?"

Maddie looked at Rick without saying anything.

"He's really nice, I promise. He can help you draw – he's really good at dog ears."

Finally Maddie nodded and Kate left her alone with Castle.

"So, you need help with those dog ears then, huh?" he asked, doing his best to keep things light and as un-awkward as possible. He slid off the couch and peered critically at the drawing Maddie was in the process of finishing. "Is this a German Shepherd?"

Maddie nodded, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief at guessing right.

"That's good. German Shepherds are police dogs, you know. I see a lot of German Shepherds some days, so I'm extra good at drawing them." He picked up the brown crayon that Maddie had left on the floor. "May I?"

She nodded and watched noiselessly as he lightly drew the general shape of the ears before colouring them in with the brown and black crayons.

"Does this dog have a name?"

"Gizmo," Maddie answered quietly. She wasn't yet comfortable around him, but that was okay; he'd keep persevering.

"Gizmo, that's a good name. Reminds me of my favourite name – Cosmo."

Maddie giggled.

"What? You don't like the name?"

Again, she laughed. "It's funny."

Castle grinned, glad that he was finally connecting with the girl as Kate seemed to already have done. He was still smiling when the door to the break room opened again and Beckett leaned in to summon him out.

He watched from outside as Beckett introduced Madeline to the social worker and went on to explain that she was going to take her to some people who would look after her. He could see that in such a short time, Maddie had already formed a bond with Kate and didn't want to leave the precinct. It was understandable – after all, it had only taken one day of working with Kate (albeit unwillingly on her part) for him to find himself repeatedly drawn back to her.

Inside the breakroom, Kate could feel Castle watching her as Maddie tugged on her heartstrings with that crumpled expression. She knew she shouldn't but it was just one small hug before the girl left. She didn't think she'd be seeing the sweet girl again; she'd already managed to sneakily interview Maddie when they were just chatting and it was obvious that her parents had known of the threat hanging over them and had hurried to protect her, locking her in her own bedroom before she could be killed meaning she therefore hadn't seen their murderer.

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><p>Once the social worker and Madeline were gone, they sat side by side on Kate's desk and stared at the murder board that Esposito and Ryan had created whilst they were entertaining Maddie. Beside it stood a second white board containing all the details of Rachel Winters' murder since there was a strong possibility the two cases were linked.<p>

"So, what leads do we have so far?" Kate asked, looking to Ryan and Esposito to fill her in on their work.

"Lanie should be finished with the autopsy in a couple of hours so we'll know for sure what size the slugs were and we'll be able to check ballistics for links to previous cases." Kate nodded as she digested the information.

"Have we got any more witness statements to chase up?"

Ryan shook his head. "Uniforms have already collected all the statements from the apartment staff and residents, but so far the only solid evidence we have is corroboration of the shots fired at 3:05. Other than that nobody saw or heard anything. We've requisitioned the buildings security tapes to check the entrances and elevator; they should be here any minute."

"And what about Rachel's case?" Castle asked. "Are we reopening it?"

"That would be my decision, Mr Castle," Gates announced, surprising both Kate and Rick since they had been sitting with their backs to her office and were unaware that she'd been listening to her detectives' report.

"So? Are we reopening it?" he asked again, desperate for the second opportunity to bring Rachel's killer to justice. Kate squeezed his wrist but kept her eyes locked on Captain Gates.

"Although we have two different murder weapons here, the presence of an undeniable link between the Cleavers and Miss Winters means we have to consider the possibility that the Cleavers adoption of Madeline led to their deaths and that we are dealing with the same killer. In light of this new information, I believe we have new avenues of investigation in the Winters case so, yes Mr Castle, the NYPD is officially reopening our investigation of Rachel Winters' murder."

"And – just to clarify – we're allowed to investigate it this time?"

Kate thought she caught a hint of amusement in Gate's eyes as Castle indicated her and himself with a hand flying between them. She very much hoped that that meant their captain would say yes.

"Two cases, four detectives. I'd say this case could do with a new set of eyes looking over the information, wouldn't you?"

Kate slid off the desk. "Thank you, Sir, you won't regret it."

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><p>He was still marvelling that they were getting the chance to investigate as he sat beside her in his chair once more.<p>

"I just genuinely can't believe she said yes."

"Castle, you've said that five times in the last three minutes," Kate muttered without looking up from the file Esposito had handed her. It contained everything they had on Rachel's murder – statements from her assistant Henry, friend Violet and the cleaner who found her body, grainy CCTV freezeframes from street cameras outside taken around the time of her murder, the ME report. It was all there.

"Sorry. I'm just glad we get to finally solve this case, you know."

She nodded. She did know. Not being able to solve Rachel's murder, to even investigate, felt like an insult to Rachel's memory. It undermined her reasoning for even becoming a cop: to bring justice and closure to the families left behind. Briefly, she wondered what had happened when Ryan and Esposito had had to inform Rachel's father of her death – whether he'd been having a brief moment of clarity or if he'd been stuck without knowing he even had a daughter.

Both she and Castle were beginning to feel the effects of jet lag, yawning widely into their hands or shoulders, but she soldiered on, doing her best to get through the report while Ryan and Esposito sifted through hours of surveillance footage from the Cleavers' place.

When her eyes began to blur and stop recognising the words on the pages before her though, she gave in, placing all the documents back into the manila folder and sealing it shut before turning to Castle to find him snoring gently in the chair, his head propped up on his closed fist as he leaned against the table. She smirked at his open mouth and the way his hand moved the skin over his cheekbones. Really, he was quite adorable while he slept. It was when he was awake that he drove her slowly insane. Though she'd become so used to that that it was actually one of the things that she had grown to love – his ability to make every moment of her life fun.

Sighing, she tucked the manila folder under one of her arms and used her free hand to smooth Rick's tousled hair away from his forehead.

"Come on, Rick, it's time to go home."

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><p><strong>AN: I just want to take a quick minute to explain that I had the idea for this story before I even knew that there was going to be an episode called 'The Good, the Bad and the Baby' and although the idea may seem like it's going to be very similar to the episode, it will be quite different so please don't be put off by that. Aside from that, I would love to hear any thoughts you may have so be sure to leave a review. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and so many of you are reading this sequel. Special thanks go to alwayscastle2, hfce, Moochiecat, jellybean96, htbuzz, TORONTOSUN and Malakiva for reviewing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter too.**

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><p>She was so exhausted she was practically falling asleep at her desk while she waited for Castle to get out of the men's room so they could return home. In the cab back to the loft, she genuinely drifted off and had to be shaken awake by Rick when they had pulled up outside their SoHo building. He fared little better though. After being coaxed out of sleep by Kate when he fell asleep in his chair, he had to admit he had dozed for a moment when he was stood at the urinal and every few minutes his eyes would drift closed in the cab. In the elevator, it was only the sound of the car travelling up the rails and the feeling of the floor vibrating under their feet that kept them both awake.<p>

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><p>The sound of deep laughter coming from within the loft as he opened up the front door stunned them both and caused them to freeze in the entry. Frowning, Rick sidestepped the haphazardly positioned bags that Kate had literally thrown through the door before heading off with Lanie for coffee and a catchup and continued into his apartment.<p>

"Stop, stop!" Alexis giggled desperately from within the living room, popping up red-faced while the obviously male laughter continued.

"Alexis?!"

"Dad, you're back!" she exclaimed, leaping off the couch and running around it to hug him.

He stood stockstill, his arms eventually folding around his daughter after a few seconds in a jerking movement, until a second head popped up from the couch, this one topped with dark, tangled hair and a beard, and scared him half to death.

"Hey, Mr C!"

"What's going on?"

"Dad," Alexis cautioned before making the necessary introductions. "This is Pi, I met him in Costa Rica."

"And he's here now because…" Rick trailed off, waiting for his daughter to explain the presence of her holiday fling in his loft. In the back of his mind he wondered how long he'd been staying. If the numerous articles of men's clothing strewn through the kitchen, living room and dining room were a sign, he had guess that Pi had been living in his home with Alexis since he left for his and Kate's honeymoon.

Alexis dragged him away, her fingers digging into his elbow to tow him into the kitchen, where Pi couldn't hear her mutter, "He surprised me, Dad. He's here on a research project."

"A research project," he parroted, unable to do much else in his tired state.

Alexis nodded. "He's counting New York's bee population to see whether urbanisation and pollution have had any effect in the last five years. And, you know, he didn't have anywhere to stay."

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><p>He was still processing the development as he stood at the kitchen counter after finishing dinner and washing their dishes, leaning heavily on his hands grip against the edge of the work surface. Kate was leaning against him, simultaneously trying to remain upright and comfort him with feather-light touches and mumbled words.<p>

"I need ice cream," he said suddenly, pulling away from her to go to the freezer.

"Oh, sorry, Dad," came Alexis' voice from the living room. "Pi and I finished that last night."

"Great," he muttered sarcastically. "Cookies it is then." He pulled the Death Star cookie jar out of one of the cupboards and took out a stack of chocolate chip cookies, definitely far too many than he was hungry for. He took a great big bite out of the first, munching away as Kate silently regarded him.

"You know, I didn't have you pegged as an emotional eater," she joked, trying to lighten his mood.

The smile he gave her was half-hearted, not quite reaching his eyes, while his laugh was little more than a quick exhale of air through his nose. Still, he was grateful to her for trying at least.

"You wanna help me unpack?" she asked, thinking maybe the task might help him take his mind off the way Alexis was sat in Pi's lap, and how blindsided he was by the whole thing.

"Sure," he replied, despite knowing he was going to end up just sitting on the bed when he grew bored of lobbing their dirty laundry in the direction of the clothes bin and most often falling short of his intended target.

She grabbed the two rolling suitcases, leaving him to pick up both of their carry ons and the bag of collected mementoes. Practically everything in the two suitcases, except the toiletries bag and the luxurious soaps and body washes Castle had somehow managed to steal from their hotel without her noticing, went straight into a pile to be shoved into the washing machines. While she worked through their suitcases, he opened their hand luggage, placing his copy of _Live and Let Die _on his bedside table and her copy of _In a Hail of Bullets _on the table on her side of the bed. He left Kate's small make up bag on the bed, along with her iPod and camera, which he then took out into his study to attach to his laptop so he could start downloading their photos. He stored their passports back in his desk drawer for safekeeping, before retrieving his iPad so he could charge it. It surprised him how such a boring, menial task kept his mind occupied. It was only when he started on their bag of mementoes and came across Alexis' gifts that he sat on the bed, holding onto the beautiful necklace made of strung together Tahitian pearls with the sarong Kate had picked out for her laid out on the bed beside him. He sighed before setting them aside. He could still hear Alexis out in the living room with Pi and didn't really want to disturb that; her present could wait till the morning.

Kate could feel his eyes boring into her back as she sorted through the final pieces of clothes from their suitcases before piling all of them on top of the laundry basket. When she finally turned and looked back at him with her hands on her hips, he was still staring, sitting dejectedly on the foot of the bed.

"Come on," she said, beckoning him towards her. As soon as he was within reach, her fingers slid around his hand, palms melding together, so she could drag him into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

It was an early night for them, falling into bed just before nine o'clock, but the jet lag had hit them hard and in their eyes it was an achievement that they had managed to stay awake for so long.

"So, we finally get to investigate Rachel's murder," he murmured, nuzzling his nose against juncture of her shoulder and neck.

"Yeah, we're solving this one," she said with determination, "so we're up bright and early, Castle."

He nodded, nose brushing against her skin again. "Night."

She turned her head, neck muscles straining so she could meet his lips and mutter against them, "Night, Rick."

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><p>He jerked awake at the urgent trill of his alarm clock, more startled than when they had come face to face with a tiger because he'd been so deeply asleep and enjoying a particularly pleasant dream. Seeing Kate sat upright against the headboard staring down at him, obviously having woken up before the alarm sounded, he frowned as he realised that what he had seen in his dream had no possibility of occurring.<p>

"What?" she asked, noticing the downturn of the left corner of his mouth.

"Nothing," he yawned, stretching out his body before pushing the duvet aside and moving his legs around so he was sat in the middle of the mattress, elbows resting on his bare knees as another yawn took over his body. Looking back at Kate, he asked what was probably the most unnecessary question of their entire relationship. "Coffee?"

He was already on his feet and halfway into the kitchen when she called out, "With extra vanilla please."

When he opened the fridge to take out the milk and saw the carton of orange juice on the shelf inside the door, he couldn't help remembering the smiling face of the adorable little girl with Beckett's eyes, the one who'd thanked him when he handed her a sippy cup filled with the citrus drink before pushing her one the swings, _their swings_. He started again when Kate exited the bedroom, hurrying to shut the fridge and make their coffees before the brewed ground beans got cold.

Alexis and Pi wandered out and joined them whilst they were still drinking their coffees, Kate briefly disappearing into the bedroom to retrieve the sarong and necklace and give them to Alexis.

"Kate picked out the sarong," Rick muttered, briefly glancing up from the solid glare he had affixed on his hands curled around his coffee cup to direct his gaze at his daughter. He had still yet to acknowledge her boyfriend's presence at the breakfast bar.

"It's great," Alexis promised. "I love it. Thanks, Kate."

Kate smiled, pleased that she'd chosen okay, but shrugged off the praise, simply saying, "No problem. I'm just glad you like it."

As soon as they were done, they had to leave though, rushing into the shower. That morning Kate spent longer than usual applying her makeup, trying to cover the dark circles under her eyes from waking up too early – too used to the early sunrises of Bora Bora. Unlike her husband, she didn't have the ability to sleep indefinitely. Somehow, she was still ready before him though.

She was just double checking she had everything when he walked out of the bedroom, buttoning his shirt cuffs.

"Got your gun?" he called out, not noticing a hidden bulge at her hip like there usually was.

She patted her sides, not even finding the empty holster attached to the waistband of her trousers. "Gun, gun, where did I leave my gun?" she muttered to herself, trying to think backwards through her routine that morning.

"Is it still in the safe?"

"No," she replied, though it was too late because he had already backtracked into his study and pulled open the safe he kept hidden behind the spiral staircase picture adorning the wall behind his desk. "I definitely took it out of the safe."

"Nope, it's not in here," he confirmed, shutting the safe again and recentering the frame over it.

Sighing, Kate checked through the plain black bag she usually slung over her shoulder and took to work, finding only the manila folder containing all the details of Rachel Winters' case that she'd finally finished reading earlier that morning whilst she waited for Castle to wake up, as well as her badge, cell phone, purse and latex gloves reserved for handling evidence at crime scenes.

"Can you check the bedroom for me in case I left it in there?" she requested. "I'm just going to have a quick look around out here."

Finally, after retrieving her gun and holster from under the duvet – a situation created by Rick making the bed up whilst she was in the shower – they were on their way down to the precinct, ready to get to work on solving Rachel's murder.

"I think we should call in Rachel's friends – Violet, Henry, anyone else she knew from college – and see if they knew anything about Madeline."

"Makes sense," Rick nodded. "I wonder when she had Madeline. Wait, hang on, that was a stupid question," he added, as he presumably did the math and worked out that Rachel must have had her four year old daughter while she was still at college. Kate repressed her smirk and refocused on navigating around New York City's outrageously bad cab drivers. "Why do you reckon she gave Madeline up for adoption then?"

Kate shrugged. It didn't feel right to her to guess at Rachel's motives. In any regard, they were surely going to find out. It could be that Madeline had been the missing piece from Esposito and Ryan's initial investigation.

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><p>She could tell he was lost in his own little world, probably captivated by a new idea for Nikki, while she was busy dialling new phone numbers every few minutes, trying to organise getting in Rachel Winters' closest friends and family for interviews.<p>

Instead though, he was thinking again about his dream, and how adorable Kate had been when she'd started teaching the small girl the rules of baseball, progressing through to playing catch with her, the both of them wearing mitts though their little girl's dwarfed her hand.

"You've got to grip it like this," Kate had said, placing her daughter's fingers over the seams of the ball.

Just remembering it, how proud they'd both been when their daughter had tossed the ball harder, more smoothly, gave him a sappy grin.

"Castle," Kate repeated, staring at him with a frown.

He almost toppled out of his chair as Kate nudged his leg under the table with her booted foot. "Huh?"

She nodded towards the interview room. "The social worker's here, you coming?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, jumping it and quickly checking his pockets to make sure his phone was still there, lest Gina call him. She and Paula were still planning to pull him away for the second half of his book tour sometime over the next two weeks, whittling down the fine details through long distance conference calls, the results of which his ex-wife then passed onto him. Earlier that morning, he'd been told that the second half of his book tour had actually been extended; taking him further west, since there was such high demand for him. Both he and Kate were hot in the media still in the aftermath of their wedding. "I'm right behind you." He motioned for her to lead, and followed as she crossed the bullpen and entered Interrogation room 1, taking the seat nearest the door opposite the social worker who had taken Madeline to her new foster home just the day before.

"How's Maddie?" Kate asked as soon as he was seated beside her, surprising him since the reason Olivia Dawson had been called for interview was to find out about Rachel's reasons for giving up Madeline Cleaver for adoption.

"Madeline is fine," Olivia assured Kate. "I dropped her off with a reliable foster family we're very familiar with last night and I'll be checking in with her over the next few days to see how she's settling in."

Kate nodded, smiling a little more.

"That's good. Were you familiar with the Cleavers, Ms Dawson?"

"I was the social worker who organised their adoption of Madeline, yes."

"So you also dealt with Rachel Winters, the biological mother?"

Olivia nodded. "I'm not sure what that has to do with the Cleavers' murder though…"

"So you were aware that Rachel Winters was murdered earlier this year in June?" Kate asked, keeping her tone professional, just to be sure that it did not come across that she was insinuating anything. At the beginning of their investigation, they couldn't afford to make such accusations.

"You don't think this was the same person?" the social worker gasped.

"It's possible," Castle said, before receiving a sharp look from Kate as he disclosed details of their investigative route.

Dragging her gaze off Castle and back to the prim woman sitting across from her in a tightly fitting skirted suit, she began speaking again. "Ms Dawson, if you could just tell us everything you know concerning the circumstances of Rachel Winter's decision to give up her daughter for adoption, you'd really be helping the case."

Olivia Dawson nodded. "I was the social worker assigned to pick Madeline up from the hospital after Ms Winter's doctor got in contact when the biological mother decided she couldn't keep the baby."

"Do you know why Rachel Winters decided to give Maddie up for adoption?"

"I'm afraid not. All I know is that she had requested an adoption. I picked up Madeline and took her back to a temporary home, I can't remember which one, and then when the Cleavers' file was tossed onto my desk, I set Madeline up with them."

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><p>"Rick, maybe you should just go home. You're obviously distracted," Kate finally said after he confused two of their interviewees and given her the wrong messages again when she'd been away from her desk for just the smallest moment.<p>

He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face, conceding internally that he'd hadn't been entirely with it. That dream was just playing on his mind too much. Nodding, he replied, "Okay, I'll see you at home," and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he stood up from his chair and grabbed his coat.

He took a short cab ride, still caught up imagining what the little girl of his dream might have looked like when she'd first been born, whether her eyes would have been blue before turning hazel, whether she'd have had a small tuft of light brown hair or a whole head of it or nothing at all. He grimaced as he pictured her tiny face with his nose. Whatever she looked like though, he knew she was still perfect.

Exiting the cab, paying the driver, entering his building; he did it all on autopilot. He didn't even stop to think about taking the mail from the locker registered to their apartment; he just did it. It was only when he entered the loft and saw Alexis lounging on the couch with Pi again that he was jarred out of his imagination.

"Don't you have classes?" he blurted, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"I've been given the week off to do all the reading for them," she replied, raising her voice because she had no intention of turning around.

"Well, shouldn't you be reading then?"

She shrugged. "I'll start tomorrow."

Forsaking the entrance, he stepped into the kitchen and dropped the small pile of post he'd yet to even start looking through onto the counter top, leaving his hands free to make a drink. Normally the scotch wouldn't come out until the evening, but he needed something strong and stiff if he was expected to tolerate the presence of Alexis' new boyfriend, who they'd learned after breakfast was a fruitarian and wouldn't let him anywhere near the rashers of bacon he'd intended on frying up to eat with pancakes. He just hoped that once Alexis moved back to the college dorms, he'd find someplace else to stay; or better yet, Alexis would move on from her holiday fling.

He placed the glass of scotch down on the counter after one large swig before turning to his mail and sifting out the junk to be thrown straight into the trash, coming to a stop shortly after beginning when he came across a large, thick brown envelope addressed to him and Kate.

He stopped and grinned, pulling out his phone to snap a picture of the front and send it to Kate.

_Mr and Mrs Castle! First piece of mail! _

As soon as the message had gone through he tore open the top of the envelope and pulled out a stack of printed photos, the first of which showed Kate having her hair and makeup done, while Alexis and Lanie looked on. She was beautiful. For the next three hours he lost himself in slowly flipping through the stack, studying every tiny detail. He didn't realise he'd been sat on one of the uncomfortable backless stools at the breakfast bar, or how much time had passed while he'd been completely absorbed until the front door opened and Kate walked through, dropping her bag on the sidetable along with her keys.

"Hey," she greeted, coming straight over to kiss him. "What have we got then?" He could hear the building excitement in her voice, pleased like him at their first piece of mail addressed to them as a married couple.

"The wedding photos," he answered with a grin, showing her the one that happened to be held by his fingertips at that very moment.

"You looked so handsome," she murmured, looking at the picture of him standing at the end of the aisle, watching her make her ascent towards him, over his shoulder.

"Ruggedly handsome, you mean?" he quipped with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow that earned him an elbow in the ribs.

He quietly flicked through a few more photos, the both of them silent until she suddenly said, "It was such a great day, wasn't it?"

"Well, I still think a space wedding would have been cooler-" he broke off as she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him, quickly tacking onto the end, "but I'd say it was pretty perfect." He pressed his lips to her cheek quickly, hoping to pacify her before she slapped his arm. Really he wasn't lying. In his eyes, they had definitely had a wedding he would remember fondly for the rest of his life.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought.  
><strong>

**And Happy Valentine's Day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks go to jellybean96, GeekMom, hfce, wendykw, TORONTOSUN, htbuzz, Moochiecat, alwayscastle2 and kramerjp for reviewing! I'm elated by the response to this story. I worried that it would feel a bit case heavy, so please if you do think that at any point, the case is taking over and you're not enjoying it or you want to see more Caskett scenes or any other kind of scenes, do tell me and I will take it into consideration. The previous chapter was quite Castle centric, so this one will focus in on Kate a bit more. I hope that you all enjoy it!**

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><p>It was a busy day from the get-go, with the first of Rachel's friends already waiting to be interviewed when she arrived at the precinct. After setting Esposito and Ryan to work on tracking down Marcus DeWitt, Madeline Cleaver's biological father, she led Debbie Ryan into the interview room. She'd spent so much time with him for the last few weeks while they were honeymooning, it felt unusual to not have Castle sat in the chair beside her. But he was out for the day, finalising the details of his extended book tour, getting ready to leave the following week.<p>

She took time while sitting and shuffling the file around in front of her to organise her thoughts before beginning.

"I'm sorry to drag all this up again after these last few months. In light of some new information, we're reopening Rachel's case, and I have a few questions for you if that's okay, Debbie?"

"Sure," the quiet, unassuming woman sat opposite her replied. "Whatever I can do to help."

Beckett flashed Debbie a small, grateful smile. "I was wondering if you could tell me about the last time you saw or spoke to Rachel. I know it's hard, but anything you remember would be great."

Debbie nodded, silent while she thought back. "It was in June some time. We went away for a week together – all us old college girls we do it every year. I'm so busy with Med School at the moment that I rarely get to meet up."

"You went to Yale with Rachel?"

"Yeah," Debbie answered. "It was how we met, we had Psychology classes together."

Kate nodded. "How did she seem to you the last time you were together?"

"She was…okay, I guess," Debbie said slowly. "I mean, she was obviously upset about her dad, she'd only just moved him into the care home and found the decision hard."

"Was there anything else going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Debbie, a few months back my partner and I spoke to another of Rachel's friends – Violet. Violet thought that someone might have been threatening Rachel-"

"What? That's crazy. Rachel wasn't into anything that would have- She didn't do stuff like drugs or deal with people that would-"

Kate nodded slowly, reaching an open palm out. "I'm not saying that Rachel was involved with anything dangerous, Debbie, but there are plenty of reasons that someone could have been blackmailing or threatening her. At the moment, this is all just speculation. It's entirely possible that Violet got the wrong end of the stick, which is why I'm asking you whether Rachel seemed stressed or distracted or…scared the last time you saw her. So?"

"I don't know," Debbie sighed. "She was stressed, sure, but she had just found out her father was ill. She didn't know what to do, and her boss was on her ass about another one of their high profile celebrity weddings. I honestly never thought there was anything else to it."

Kate nodded. She had hardly expected the first friend of Rachel's that she spoke to would crack her case wide open. "If you remember anything else, anything you think might be of help-" Kate began, sliding a card with her extension number on across the table.

"-Of course," Debbie interrupted.

As Kate showed Debbie out, the second of Rachel's friends she was going to interview entered the precinct, pausing as she and Debbie recognised each other and greeted one another with a consoling hug, sharing grief once more over their friend's untimely death. Before she could awkwardly break up the two, knowing the hands on her watch were already counting down the minutes until Jennifer Canley, her third appointment was meant to arrive, Debbie pulled away.

"I'm really sorry, Maggie, but I've got to get back before I miss my biochem class. We'll meet up soon, yeah?"

"Sure," Maggie Philips said easily, letting her friend leave.

As they walked up to the third floor together, Kate conversationally asked, "So, were you at Yale with Debbie and Rachel too?"

"Yeah, I only met them in my second year though. I was in Rachel's English classes while she was really struggling with the pregnancy-"

"-The girl she gave up for adoption?"

"Yeah. Some of the other people in the class, a few of the people whose parents probably pretty much bought them their places, were giving her a hard time. I told them to stuff their Victorian opinions," she answered with an easy shrug. It was obvious to Kate from these few simple sentences, that Maggie Philips was the ballsy one in Rachel's circle of friends. She hoped that that meant she would be candour in the interview.

"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't she keep the baby?" Kate asked, almost saying Maddie's name.

"Her father mostly. He really didn't approve of her relationship with Marcus to begin with, and when he found out that he'd knocked her up and wasn't going to even support her, well he kinda hit the ceiling. Told her to kick him out of her life and get rid of the baby too so she wouldn't be left with his 'jackass taint'."

Kate didn't know what to say to that. When she thought of how she first perceived Rachel, as a stuck-up, self-absorbed girl; she felt ashamed. Even when she realised that her first assumptions were wrong and that Rachel was in fact generous and helpful to a fault, patient and supportive, kind and thoughtful; Kate had had no idea of all the adversity she had graciously overcome, never once letting the trials of life change her.

They were just sitting down across from one another, Kate taking the same seat she'd been sat in barely five minutes previously when Maggie asked, "So what's this all about, Detective Beckett?"

"We've had some new investigative angles open up for Rachel's case-"

"The Cleavers' murders," Maggie nodded. "It was in the newspaper yesterday morning."

"You know that Madeline Cleaver is Rachel's biological daughter?"

"Oh, sure, Rachel talked to me when she first decided she wanted to visit her. It was never a closed adoption – Rachel didn't want to do that to the girl. I don't think she ever wanted to give her up in the first place, but her dad was, well he was pretty controlling, especially after Rachel's Mom had an affair and left them."

Kate kept the frown off of her face and instead sought clarification. "She's had contact with Madeline?"

"The Cleavers kept her updated with letters, but she never saw Madeline, no. She was just trying to arrange a first meeting with her about a week before…well, you know," Maggie said, breaking off awkwardly when she realised she still couldn't refer to Rachel as dead. Kate nodded sympathetically; she knew what that was like. For the first month after her mother's dead, she had unwittingly carried on talking about her in the present tense. "She was really looking forward to it, I think."

* * *

><p>As soon as she had shown Maggie out and finished all of her other appointments with Rachel's friends, Kate ducked into the break room to grab a coffee. Over the years, and after using the espresso machine Castle had in their kitchen, she had finally got the knack for brewing an okay latte without having to resort to the precinct's monkey-pee-in-battery-acid machine. Once she had a mugful of frothy caffeine to perk her up, Kate strode out into the bullpen, making a beeline for Ryan and Esposito's desks.<p>

"Anything turn up with the friends?" Javi asked, dropping a file onto his desk, and folding his hands behind his head instead as he pushed his chair onto its back legs and looked up at her.

"Yes, actually. Ryan, could you get onto Child Services for me and organise getting Olivia Dawson back here?"

Ryan nodded, already pulling his phone closer and beginning to dial.

"Why do you need the social worker again?"

"Apparently she forgot to mention that Rachel was seeking visitation with Maddie," she answered brusquely. "Where are we with Marcus DeWitt?"

"DMV registers him as living down on Kent Avenue but when we spoke with the super, guy said DeWitt hasn't been there in months. We're working on trying to track him through his job – the super said he used to work in a gallery somewhere in downtown Brooklyn, so we're working through the phone books."

"Keep me posted," Beckett requested, stopping by Gates' office to keep her up-to-date with the two cases she and the boys were working.

Gates nodded as soon as Kate had finished detailing the results of their work so far, sending her back out to start putting all of Rachel's information back onto the murder board.

Kate's stomach flip-flopped when she drew the headshot of Rachel Winters from the box her file had been shoved into, followed by the photo CSU had taken at her father's apartment. Pushing aside the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, Kate pinned the two pictures underneath magnets before grabbing the black whiteboard marker and writing Rachel's name above them in neat, blocked letters.

Once the board was complete, holding all the information they had, including Violet's suggestion that she was being threatened and the possibility that Maddie was the motive behind this murder, those two uncertainties swiftly punctuated with question marks, Kate silently stood and took it all in, vowing that she would find justice for Rachel Winters.

Beside Rachel's picture, the photo the DMV had on file for Marcus DeWitt, and the comment that his listed height, 5'8", matched the description given by the doorman on Rachel's father's building.

At twelve on the dot her cell phone rang, Castle's face beaming up at her from the screen. A grin spread across her own face as she accepted the call.

"Hey, blueberry or chocolate chip?" he asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Blueberry or chocolate chip?" he repeated, sounding kind of distracted. After a beat of silence, he elaborated, "Muffins. Do you want blueberry or chocolate chip? I finished my meeting early so I thought I'd bring you and the guys some lunch."

"In that case, blueberry," she answered, moving the phone from her mouth as she turned to call out to the boys, "Castle's bring lunch, what do you guys want?"

Relaying their orders down the phone, Kate smiled as he murmured a 'uh huh' at every item, sounding suspiciously like he was writing everything down so he wouldn't forget when he went up to the counter.

"Okay," he finally said when she'd finished. "I'll be as quick as I can."

"Sure, see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too," he sang into the phone before hanging up.

* * *

><p>Depositing the paper bags containing all of the things he'd bought for lunch, Castle brushed his lips over Kate's as she stood to greet him.<p>

He dug around in one of the bags before pulling out a plastic container and declaring, "Voila! One blueberry muffin for Mrs Castle."

She accepted it with a smile, putting it on the far side of her keyboard as she waited for Castle to pull out whatever else he'd bought her, a crispy chicken salad with croutons and a small vial of dressing.

While they were eating, Captain Gates stuck her head out of her office door and called, "Detective Beckett? Where are we with tracking down Marcus DeWitt?"

"We're halfway through the city's galleries," Kate answered, setting down her salad and wiping her hands in case Gates wanted anything else.

But the captain just returned to her desk, leaving the door open so she could keep her attention somewhat focused on the events of the bullpen. The next thing Kate knew, Rick was pouting at her. "You're not taking my name-"

Kate squirmed. They still hadn't really had time to discuss this. Officially, she was now Katherine Houghton Castle, but she hadn't had any time to talk about whether she would keep her maiden name for her police work with him. She'd barely thought about it herself. It was more a case of convenience and habit that had her responding to the name, the others calling her it.

"It's just for the precinct and the cases, Castle," she promised. "Everywhere else, I'm a Castle."

He nodded, putting on a brave face as he told her that he should have expected it.

* * *

><p>"So this book tour? When are you leaving?" she asked, dropping their rubbish into the breakroom bin while he leaned back against one of the counters, unashamedly looking at her butt as she bent over to retrieve a muffin case that had dropped onto the floor.<p>

"End of the week," he sighed. His arms reached for her as soon as she'd got all the rubbish in the bin, pulling her around until she was standing toe to toe with him. His arms hung around her waist, hands linked and taut at her back as she leaned backwards to really look at him.

"How long are you going to be gone for?"

"A month," he said regretfully, rubbing one of his palms against her back through the smooth material of her blue shirt.

Kate sighed too, all while reminding herself that she was going to have to get used to these periods. Her job was getting up and working at all hours of the night and the day. His was travelling all over the country to promote his books. A month just felt too long was all.

Reading her like she read one of his books, he murmured hopefully, "You could always come with me."

"Next time maybe," she replied, knowing she couldn't just up and leave when she was in the middle of a case, especially as she'd only just started working again after her vacation time. Lifting her arms and looping them around his neck, she pushed the fingers of one hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. "We can talk every day, Facetime, Skype."

He nodded, trying for a smile and succeeding in curling the corners of his lips for her. "I'll be back before you know it," he promised, leaning towards her to press his lips against hers.

"Yo, Beckett!" Esposito called, interrupting the moment and pulling a growl from Castle. "Got something!" He was just finishing jotting something down on his pad, phone still cradled between his shoulder and ear despite the fact that the line had already gone dead, when she reluctantly disentangled herself from Castle's arms and left the privacy of the breakroom. "He's working at Pho Tillery Studio – his shift will be starting in fifteen minutes."

"Let's go," she replied, leading the boys and Castle to the elevator.

* * *

><p>Forty minutes later, Marcus DeWitt was sat across from Beckett and Esposito, resolutely not saying anything.<p>

"You don't want to talk?" Kate waited, leaving him one last opportunity to answer her questions before she continued, "Fine. Maybe a night in one of our cells will loosen your tongue."

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><p><strong>AN: I uploaded this today rather than tomorrow because I'm going to be pretty busy with dissertation meetings, travelling home and seeing my mum in a play and stuff so I wasn't sure if I would have enough time to update this story or not. Guess that's good for you guys though, because you get something to read a day earlier. Anyway, do let me know what you think. Too case heavy? Am I writing the case okay? Also, please feel free to point out mistakes I make in any of my chapters, be they with my grammar, my spelling (though remember that I'm English so the majority of the time I use British spelling, not American) or parts of the plot where I should have researched procedure and locations better. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you everyone who has been reviewing! I love reading what you all think. It makes writing a story so much more worthwhile and fun. So thank yous taken care of, I'll just shut up and let you all read on. **

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><p>Kate and Rick watched from behind the twoway mirror as Marcus DeWitt was led back into their interrogation room after spending a night in lockup. If his clenched jaw was anything to go by, he wasn't happy about that. Once he was sat down, Kate turned to her husband.<p>

"Come on." She led the way out of the observation room and through the next door to the right, calmly walking into the interrogation room and sitting herself down without so much as a glance at their suspect. Once Castle had shut the door and sat down; following her lead and relaxing his posture with his arms resting on the table top as he made eye contact with Marcus, watching him while Kate unnerved him, she began. "We took a blood sample from you yesterday, Marcus, do you remember? We've got your fingerprints too. Any minute now, the results of that blood test will be back. You've got one last chance to explain before we have undeniable evidence that you were in Rachel Winter's apartment."

There was a choked sound in the back of Marcus' throat before he desperately declared, "Fine, I was there, okay! But I _swear _I didn't kill her. She was already dead, I swear." Neither Rick nor Kate missed the pleading tone of his voice, but it would take a lot more than that to convince Kate that he was innocent.

"So why didn't you report it?"

"Because I knew y'all would think I'd done it! I'm not stupid; I know it doesn't look good with my record."

"You have a history of violent crime, Mr DeWitt. Three counts of assault and a robbery charge-"

"-I was a kid! I don't do that stuff anymore."

"So where were you July 27th?" she questioned.

"I was working on my artwork-"

"-Your artwork?" Castle asked, frowning. Marcus DeWitt's employment record didn't reflect anything other than secretary work in a few of Ney York's galleries.

"Yeah, I've been...submitting some of my old sketches and paintings to a few galleries around the city. Some of my stuff was bought, so I started getting more serious about it." He shrugged before continuing. "I've spent most of my time at my apartment, completely immersed."

"Is there anyone who can verify that you were there on the night of Rachel's murder?"

"My next door neighbour came up around ten that night, I think," Marcus replied after a few moments thought.

"We'll be checking," Kate assured Marcus, before getting up and leaving.

The second the door closed, Castle asked, "So? Do you think it was him?"

"He doesn't seem to have a motive. But we can check with his neighbours to corroborate his alibi."

He nodded, following her example as she picked up her coat from the back of her chair and slipped it on, pulling her hair out from underneath the collar. His own coat was held over his arm until they exited the elevator on the ground floor of the precinct and stepped out onto the street. As rush of wind passed by, lifting leaves and litter alike into the air, he shivered and pulled the wool coat on over the top of his blazer. Pretty soon he would have to start wearing his scarf again.

He warmed his hands over the air conditioning vents as Kate drove, her own hands protected from the chill in the wintery air by leather gloves.

* * *

><p>"Guess he was serious about his art excuse," Rick commented as they paused in the doorway. Directly across from them was an impossibly large canvas that blotted out all light from the window behind it. It was so dim with the restriction of natural light that Kate actually flipped the light switch beside the door to help illuminate the room. "You don't think he's conflicted do you?"<p>

Kate rolled her eyes, ignoring her husband's sarcasm as he surveyed the painting filled with angry black, brush strokes and soft, faded watercolours, and instead focused on taking a quick search of Marcus DeWitt's apartment, sifting through a few scraps of paper – most of them covered in rough, pencil-drawn sketches – in case there was anything related to Rachel Winters in the open space multi-functioning room.

"You wanna search while I go check his story with the neighbour?"

Rick nodded absent-mindedly, busy staring at the various canvas artworks adorning the walls. Muttering to himself, he said, "There must be something against that many hangings in his contract."

Her knuckles rapped a quick rhythm on the door across the hall, her toes tapped while she waited for some sounds of life from within. "NYPD," she called after a few silent moments, her badge already in her hand ready to be displayed. Finally, with after the creaking of a few springs and some plodding, heavy footfalls, the door was flung open and a round-bellied man stared out at her.

"Yeah?"

"Marcus DeWitt, across the hall," she began, pointing back over her shoulder at the unlocked apartment she'd just left. "Did you see him at all on July 27th?"

"Er…"

The silence between them while her suspect's neighbour thought back filled with the sound of the audience laughter of some daytime comedy. Kate waited anxiously. If Marcus was caught lying, the case would probably be much easier to solve.

"July 27th, that was a Thursday, right?"

Kate nodded an affirmative, trying to keep her patience.

"Well, he usually works till late Thursday evenings so I probably would have taken his mail in for him that day. He gets a delivery of art supplies, new brushes and paints, stuff like that every week," the guy explained slowly. "Yeah, I think I saw him that evening when he got back home."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, had to help him manhandle that beast of canvas through the door. Should have seen the delivery guy's face when he unloaded that," the man from 6B chuckled.

"Right, sorry to have taken your time. Thanks for your help, Mr…"

"Avery. Charles Avery."

Kate nodded and shook his hand before returning to Castle. "Well? Find anything?"

"Huh?" he asked, blinking as he finally turned away from the seven feet long canvas.

"Have you honestly been staring at that the entire time?"

"It's good work," he defending as soon as her annoyed, impatient tone hit his ears.

* * *

><p>"Well Marcus," Kate said as she shut the interrogation room door behind her, "you're in luck. Your neighbour confirmed your alibi."<p>

She watched the tension in Marcus DeWitt ease, his whole body seeming to deflate on a sigh before he replied, "I told you I didn't do it. So can I go now?"

"Unfortunately, I still have a few questions for you."

"Questions about what? You already know I had nothing to do with Rachel's death-"

"That might be true, but that doesn't mean you didn't have anything to do with the murders of James and Monica Cleaver. So did you know them?" Kate asked, staring intently at the bearded, curly-haired man sat opposite her, ready to catch any miniscule changes in his facial expression or his body language.

He frowned and shook his head, not trying to hide his confusion in the slightest. "I have no idea who you're talking about. What's this about, Detective Beckett?"

"It's about your daughter, Marcus," she said, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms.

"My daughter? I don't have a daughter-"

"Don't lie, Marcus. You're listed as Madeline Cleaver's biological father on her birth certificate. She is the child you had with Rachel Winters, isn't she?"

On the other side of the two way mirror, Castle watched with a sinking heart and disgusted expression as Marcus continued to claim that although, yes, Maddie was technically his biological daughter, he had never had – nor wanted – anything to do with her. How anyone could not want to have that little girl, or indeed any child, in their life was beyond him.

"I told her she should have aborted it-" That was it for Rick. He couldn't stand to listen to any more. Alexis was one of the best parts of his life, a part that he could never bring himself to regret – even if he knew in his heart that had Meredith not fallen pregnant with their daughter, they would likely have never stayed together long enough to get married.

He was waiting patiently by Kate's desk when she returned.

"Apparently, Rachel had arranged a meeting for that Friday with Marcus, said she had something important to discuss with him though she neglected to tell him what that was, so we're still in the dark about her reasons." Sighing, Kate threw herself into her chair and nudged her computer mouse to bring the machine off the NYPD screensaver, finding that she had an email from Lanie. Wondering why her best friend would have emailed rather than called or texted, she dug her phone out from her coat, her arm twisting at an awkward angle so she could reach it rather than stand up and lift her coat off the back of the chair, and found that she had a couple of missed calls from the Medical Examiner. She scanned the email, before spinning on her chair so she was facing Ryan and Esposito, the two detectives now working through the Cleavers' recent phone records for anything suspicious. "Ryan, have you heard anything about Olivia Dawson?"

"Child Protective Services said she was tangled up with a troublesome foster kid but would stop by as soon as she could," he said.

Kate nodded. "I'm heading to the morgue, Lanie's got something. If she turns up while I'm gone, let me know?"

"You got it," Kevin promised.

"Come on, Castle," Kate said as soon as she'd grabbed her keys, coat and phone.

He followed her quietly, and it was only in the car as she drove over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that she realised he hadn't said a word since the interrogation. She glanced at him, flicking her eyes in his direction before looking back at the road then at him and then at the road again. "Hey, you okay? Rick?"

He was slow to reply. "I heard DeWitt saying that he didn't want anything to do with Maddie. I just don't understand why."

Kate's heart wrenched. Of course he didn't understand why someone would not want their child. He had a child that he loved more than anything. Even if he wasn't a father, he would still be the most loving, generous man. He was just so warm. But he was one of those rare people. Kate Beckett, she'd spent half her life encountering humanity's lowest of the low. She knew how horrid and careless and unfeeling people could really be.

"Castle…" she trailed off when she realised that she didn't know what to say to comfort him. "Sometimes people are just… Maybe Marcus would feel differently, you know, if he met Maddie. You can't really know how you feel about being a parent until you've experienced it, right?"

* * *

><p>She didn't think she'd done a very good job at consoling him. Rick was still pretty quiet while they meandered through the corridors of OCME till they reached the autopsy room that Lanie was operating in.<p>

Their close friend looked up from the notes she was making on a clipboard when they entered, and smiled briefly.

"You have something?"

Lanie nodded. "I did James Cleaver's autopsy yesterday, and didn't think anything of it at first, but then I had to re-evaluate that when I looked at Monica today and found the same mark." Still talking, Lanie led them over to the first of the bodies, James', and pointed towards his inner elbow, where there was quite obviously a small puncture mark that was mirrored on his wife's arm.

"Lanie," Castle asked, seeming to have perked up somewhat now that he had something else to draw his attention, "are these needle marks?"

"Yes, though they're from a few days ago. I looked up their medical records to see if it was for some kind of treatment or a routine blood donation or not and found that they both submitted blood tests to check whether they would be compatible donors for their daughter-"

"Madeline Cleaver's ill?"

Lanie answered Kate's question with a nod. "I checked her records too, Sweetie. She's been diagnosed with type 3 Gaucher's Disease."

"Which is?"

"It's a disease that affects the metabolism and allows glucocerebroside to build up in the body. Judging from Madeline's medical notes, the builds have caused severe damage to her liver."

"Lanie, can you check Rachel Winter's autopsy notes, see if she had any needle marks too?"

"Sure," Lanie answered, crossing the room to her computer and doing a quick search to bring up the appropriate file. After reading through, she turned back to Kate and Rick. "There was a needle mark, but as Toxicology didn't bring up anything, we didn't rule it as relevant to the murder. Like I said earlier, if James and Monica hadn't both had these, we probably wouldn't even be talking about this."

"Maybe this is what Rachel wanted to talk to Marcus about. Ask him to get tested for compatibility," Kate said to Rick, who nodded thoughtfully.

"Makes sense. Lanie, do you know if Rachel or the Cleavers were compatible?"

"The results haven't come through for the Cleavers yet. The tests were very recent. I'd imagine that since Rachel is the biological mother, she was the first port of call and the Cleavers only had themselves tested from desperation."

* * *

><p>"She seemed so healthy," Rick muttered in the car. Kate glanced at his crumpled face as he whispered, "She's so young."<p>

"Maybe that's a good thing – they've diagnosed it early so she'll better chances of finding a suitable donor." She cut the engine in the precinct garage, leaving the keys dangling from the ignition while she reached for Castle's hand and squeezed his fingers. "She'll be okay."

He nodded, but it was hard to feel cheerful. Maddie was four, she was supposed to be running around the school playground with girls and boys, skinning her knees when she tripped; not having blood transfusions and operations.

She gave his hand one last squeeze before removing her keys and opening her Dodge's door, stepping out into the garage. Castle's door slammed, the sound echoing through the lofty spaces of the concrete basement followed by the electronic click as she locked the doors. His large hand was wrapped tightly around hers in the elevator, the two of them standing so close together that their sides were brushing and his arm was forced in front of her body, their joined hands resting against her thigh. Despite their rule about PDAs and professionalism in the precinct, Kate kept their hands together, palms kissing, while they traversed the short distance to the bullpen, stopping as Ryan appeared out of the breakroom and nodded towards the interview room.

"I set Olivia Dawson up for you. She just got here."

"Okay," she nodded. "Thanks, Kev." As soon as he had returned to the breakroom and she was alone with Castle again – well as isolated and secluded as was possible in the middle of the precinct – she asked, "Are you coming in?"

He paused, opening and closing his mouth once before replying, "Actually, I think I might sit this one out. Hang with the boys for a bit, maybe."

She nodded. She'd kind of been expecting it really. It wasn't that she wasn't as affected as he was by the news of Maddie's illness; she was. She just knew she had to keep focused on her job. Giving him a swift hug, she pressed her lips over his in the briefest kiss before turning and dropping her coat and things back by her desk.

When she entered the interview room, Olivia Dawson was on her feet, pacing the length of the room.

"I've only got an hour before I need to get back to work so this better be quick, Detective," she bristled.

"I'll try not to keep you," Kate replied, her lack of energy preventing a retort. "I've only called you back because you withheld information in our first meeting-"

"I did no such thing!"

"Why didn't you tell us that Rachel Winters had an open adoption then, that she was organising visitation with Maddie?"

"The fact that the Madeline's case was an open adoption was neither here nor there. And as for Ms Winters visiting the Cleavers, Madeline's parents had always had a good relationship with Ms Winters. Although we were involved in the beginning, acting as liaisons for the biological mother and adoptive parents, there came a point where our assistance was no longer required. Unless the Cleavers were unhappy with Ms Winter's requests for visitation, they had no reason to get in contact with us." Kate studied her silently, watching as Olivia grew nervous and sat down, fidgeting with her fingers under Kate's intense scrutiny. Finally she sighed, quite clearly much calmer than when Kate had first walked into the room. "I swear I did not intentionally withhold information. If Rachel Winters was arranging a visit with Madeline Cleaver, Child Services had no knowledge of it."

Kate nodded. "We've recently found evidence that James and Monica Cleaver were looking into medical treatment for Madeline. I'm not sure whether you're aware that she's been diagnosed with Gaucher's Disease." Olivia gasped, but she continued speaking. "But she'll need-"

"I'll arrange an appointment at the hospital," the social worker said, nodding reassuringly.

* * *

><p>After showing Olivia Dawson out of the precinct, Kate returned to the bull pen to see both Ryan and Esposito at their desks with Castle nowhere to be found. Shrugging to herself, she popped her head around the open breakroom door before conceding defeat and asking his whereabouts of her fellow detectives.<p>

"Did you guys see where Castle went?"

Espo looked up, glancing towards the breakroom with a furrowed brow. "He was just…" Breaking off, he turned to Ryan. "Did you see him go?"

"No, maybe he just went to the bathroom – you want me to go check?"

"Thanks," Kate nodded, fishing her phone out of her coat pocket. It worried her a bit that there was no explanatory text message from him, nor a missed call; so whilst Ryan was searching the men's toilets, she quickly selected her husband's number from her cell phone contacts and gave him a ring.

He answered after a few seconds of ringing with his usual, "Hey, babe." He sounded a lot cheerier than when she'd last seen him, but she knew better than anyone how much of his mother's theatrical ability Rick had inherited.

"Where are you?"

"Oh shoot, I forgot to leave a post-it on your desk. Sorry. Gina sent a book she wanted me to read and give a review for while we were in Bora Bora and apparently time is of the essence – they need a quote like yesterday, so I came back to the loft to grab the book and get reading." She nodded, mouthing an apology at Ryan as he returned and shook his head at her. "What do you want for dinner – I can cook it so it's ready for when you get home."

"Haven't we got leftovers to eat up?"

"Probably," he said and just from the tone of his voice she knew he was shrugging. "But they're in the freezer so it's not like they're urgent. I can do Italian, or something."

"I honestly don't mind-"

"-I think," he paused, the slight strain of his voice telling her that he was stretching for something. "Yeah, we've still got some of that wine you like-"

Glancing surreptitiously over her shoulder at the boys, and yet still shielding her mouth and the phone with one of her hands, she interrupted, "-The one that makes me-"

"-Incredibly horny. Yep, that's the one. It's good with lasagne."

"Castle, you're not trying to-"

"-What treat my wife to a lovely evening of sumptuous food and delectable wine?" he asked, feigning offence at the suggestion that he was trying to lure her into bed with him – not that it took a lot.

She chuckled. "Whatever. It sounds great anyway. I'll be home soon."

"Okay, bye."

"See you later, babe," she responded, studiously ignoring the looks Javi and Kevin were shooting her. So what if she used the word 'babe' – it wasn't a crime.

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><p>Stuffed, she pushed her plate away from her and leaned back in the chair, surveying Rick with careful attention. Although he'd greeted her at the door with a tomato-sauce covered wooden spoon in one hand and a book in the other, seeming happy enough as he pressed a kiss to her lips, there something very careful about his expressions, something that suggested he was trying too hard to keep smiling.<p>

"You okay?"

He nodded, playing with his fork instead of making eye contact.

"Rick, whatever it is just tell me," she requested, reaching out for his hand, running the pad of her thumb over his closed fist.

Sighing, he set his fork down and looked up. "I just can't stop thinking about Maddie and how awful it is that Marcus doesn't want anything to do with her. Her parents have just died, her mom's gone and now her dad doesn't even want to know her. I mean, who wouldn't want her in their life?" Before she could formulate a reply, he was speaking again. "And as if that's not enough, she's ill too."

"Maddie will be fine. Lanie has a sample of Marcus' blood. She's not supposed to, but she said she'd run a check to see if he's a compatible match for Maddie." It wasn't an easy promise she made because, of course, she had no idea whether Madeline Cleaver would be okay; but if there was anything she'd learned over the last few years since her shooting and subsequent therapy with Dr Burke, it was that the power of optimism should never be underestimated.

Placated, he nodded and pushed his chair away from the table, his hand sliding out from under hers in the process. He grabbed his plate and scraped what was left of the lasagne into the bin before pulling open the dishwasher and leaving the crockery inside. He hadn't heard Kate get up to bring over her plate and when he turned around to come face to face with her, his heart leapt in fright.

"Sorry, babe," she said, stifling a smile as she ducked around him to put her plate in the dishwasher.

She was just setting the machine when he asked, "More wine?" As she glanced back, looking over the kitchen island at him, he continued, "We've almost finished the bottle so…"

"Sure," she nodded. "Another glass is fine." She smiled, finished tidying the kitchen while he poured the remaining wine into their glasses before carrying them through to the living room. As soon as she was done wiping down the surfaces – she'd known before their first homemade meal together that Rick would be a messy cook – she joined him on the couch, sitting right next to him and reclining back into his embrace while he held his wine in one hand and the book he was supposed to have read and be reviewing in the other. The wine had sent a pleasant thrum of energy through her veins, a feeling that made her languidly stretch out for a moment before curling back around her husband, one of her hands resting on his torso before moving to his leg. "So, is this book any good?"

"Well it's no Poe, that's for sure," he murmured, still reading.

She chuckled, both annoyed and a little turned on by his apparent lack of interest as she ran her hand up and down his thigh. "Did you think it would be?"

"Gina said this guy was the next big thing – even hinted that he might overtake me in the bookcharts – actually had me worried for a second."

"It's nice to see you're not too full of yourself, Castle," Kate deadpanned, stopping her hand's movements and sighing to herself.

"I guess it's a good job I've got you to keep my feet firmly on the ground then, Mrs Castle." Finally he turned to her, smiling briefly. She hummed in agreement, squeezing his arm before quiet calm enveloped them for a few moments.

"Where's Alexis?"

"Said she was taking _Pi _to the movies," he replied, displaying his dislike of his daughter's latest relationship through his pronunciation of their apparent lodger's name.

Tipping back the last few sips of her wine, Kate said, "Well if it's just us, and we've got the apartment to ourselves… Think you can divert your attention from the book."

A salacious smirk spread across Rick's face at her suggestive tone as he dropped the book down onto the coffee table and palmed her waist.

"Trust me, you, Detective, are much more captivating than Mr Eliot's words. I'm sure I've read enough to give Gina a quote anyway."

"Enough talking," she mumbled before attaching her lips to his, mouth falling open instantly for his tongue. She had just enough presence of mind as his mouth descended hot on her neck to gasp out, "Castle, bedroom."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know what you think! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank yous go to kramerjp, phnxgrl, jellybean96, QSn, hfce, KateMt1, TORONTOSUN, Moochiecat, htbuzz and alwayscastle2 for reviewing the last chapter! You guys are the best!**

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><p>The morning briefing started much like any other with Captain Gates leaving her office at eight o'clock on the dot to join her detectives in the homicide bullpen.<p>

"Karpowski, where are we on the Michael's case?"

"Uniforms are heading back out to canvas the street again this morning and we've got a plea for witnesses to come forward out on all the news channels this morning. So far, the immediate suspects have alibied out. And there's nothing in his phone records. We're working through Mr Michael's bank records today but we've had nothing. I don't hold out much hope. CSU didn't find anything out of the ordinary at the crime scene, no prints or DNA and the search we ran last night for the gun didn't yield anything. It looks for all purposes like a random shooting, Sir-"

Gates interrupted sharply. "Keep at it, Detective."

Kate's phone vibrated in her pocket, a text message from Castle probably letting her know that he was on his way in after the lie in she let him have that morning. She'd have known for sure if Gates hadn't turned her way that second and demanded, "Beckett, Esposito, what have we got on the Cleavers and on Rachel Winters?"

She glanced at Esposito to see if he was going to speak first but he just gestured forwards for her, so she unfolded her arms and stood up from the edge of her desk, moving instead to the murder board where she could properly run through the investigation so far.

As she spoke, Gates nodded along and when she had run through all of the leads she and Castle had followed and the suspicions they currently had. When she was done, the Captain nodded and asked Esposito for a progress report on the Cleaver's murder. Unfortunately, much like Karpowski, nothing much seemed to be turning up in Ryan and Esposito's investigation.

"Can we speak to the daughter again; see if she's remembered anything else, if she was hiding anything?"

"I guess we could," Ryan answered, looking uncertain. His hesitance was understandable. The last time Kate had spoken with Maddie – the only one of them that the girl had seemed even remotely comfortable with – the few things she'd said had suggested she didn't know anything about what had happened to her parents and Kate had been reluctant to push her for more details, knowing from experience how traumatising the whole experience (even just talking to the police) was. None of them had been keen to force Maddie to relive it for them, but they had to admit it did make sense.

Just as the briefing was finishing, Gates heading back into her office and shutting the door, trusting her detectives to get straight to work and follow her orders, Castle arrived, bearing his usual two coffees and bakery treats.

"Everything okay?" he asked as he handed Kate her vanilla latte, allowing his fingers to brush purposefully over hers and catch briefly on the two rings she now wore on her left hand.

She nodded and gulped down a mouthful of the caffeinated drink that was ever so slightly too hot still. The knowledge of how Castle managed to buy coffee and bring it up to her still steaming evaded her.

"Sure?"

She sighed. "Gates wants us to bring Maddie back in, question her more thoroughly this time."

"Is it really necessary?" Castle asked, deep lines etching themselves into his forehead as he frowned, flicking his eyes towards the captain in her office for a moment.

"She might have important information, something that could crack the case open. We've made progress on Rachel's murder, sure, but the boys haven't really made any headway with Monica and James Cleaver's," Kate explained.

"Yo, Beckett, you wanna interview Madeline?"

"If you'd rather I do it-"

"-Well, you've built a rapport with her already so it makes sense," Esposito said, shrugging. Kate couldn't help the small flare of amusement in her because she knew that it wasn't just that she had been sat with Maddie last time, that the girl was obviously more comfortable around her than anyone else. But, who could blame Espo for not being comfortable around children – it wasn't like he had any of his own. Instead of voicing her thoughts however, she simply nodded and picked up the phone on her desk, dialling for Child Services to arrange getting Maddie back to the precinct.

* * *

><p>"The big comfy couch is right through here," she stage-whispered as she showed Maddie into the breakroom, having chosen the room for the non-threatening atmosphere it had. The last thing she wanted was for the four year old girl to be scared by the cold, lifeless interview rooms they had. As soon as the girl had hopped onto the couch, Kate pushed one of the armchairs around the room until it was positioned opposite her. "Somewhere in one of these cupboards," she said, indicating the few kitchen storage units the room had, "I think there's a box of cookies. You want one?"<p>

Maddie nodded, smiling slightly as Kate made a big show out of searching high and low, exclaiming an 'ah ha!' when she came across the sought after tin and removed one of Ryan's double chocolate chip cookies. She'd noticed as soon as Maddie had walked into the precinct, holding onto the hand of her foster mother, while the woman in question signed them both in as visitors at the front desk, that she seemed particularly pale and hoped that a sugary treat might help perk her up a bit. Plus, she couldn't help feeling that Madeline probably deserved a little spoiling, or so she told herself as she handed Maddie a second cookie. It wasn't like Ryan would mind anyway. The label on the tin bearing his name was just to ward off her husband.

"Castle will be back with a juice box for you soon. You remember him right? My husband? Big, goofy guy?" Madeline giggled, making Kate laugh. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Did I hear my name?" Rick asked as he entered with a carton of juice for their interviewee, Maddie's current guardian following him in and sitting beside the small, pale, blonde-haired girl occupying their couch. He crossed the room in four strides and crouched down to hand Madeline the juice. "One juice for one pretty girl."

"What do you say Madeline?"

"Thank you," Maddie whispered after a brief glance at her guardian. Kate noted that the two of them didn't seem awfully close, but she also knew that it must be hard to form a relationship with a foster parent, particularly in the aftermath of a tragedy like the one Maddie had experienced. Annalisa Marzano would probably have to be careful not to overstep her bounds, to make sure that Maddie didn't feel like she was trying to replace her parents, if they were ever going to be comfortable with one another. Perhaps it was better to try not to be judgemental.

"That's okay," Rick replied with an easy smile, patting Maddie's knee reassuringly before standing and shuffling a second chair around so he could sit to Kate's left.

"What can we do for you Detective Beckett?" Annalisa Marzano asked. It was obvious from the few words she had spoken that she was an authoritative and proper woman, the kind of person who wouldn't stand for any nonsense – it was probably why she was one of the state's Child Service's recommended foster parents.

"I just wanted to see how Maddie here is doing," Kate began, trying to reassure their only witness with an easy smile before she asked, "I wondered if you'd remembered anything else from Monday." Her heart wrenched as she watched Maddie's face crumple. "Anything you can tell us will be really helpful, Maddie. Is there anything you saw?" She caught a flash of guilt in Maddie's eyes before she glanced away, looking behind Kate and out the window into the bullpen. "Or anything you heard?"

"I'm not supposed to," Maddie mumbled.

Kate flashed a confused glance to Rick before asking, "Not supposed to what, Maddie?"

"I can't tell you. Mommy and Daddy said it was wrong."

"You know, I'm sure your mom and your dad wouldn't mind you telling Kate – she's the best secret keeper there is," Rick said, somehow managing to change his voice without sounding patronizing. It had to be a parenting thing, Kate thought while making eye contact with Maddie, hoping to reassure the girl of her husband's words.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me, Maddie."

Maddie looked uncertainly at her, quite clearly torn, but then it all came rushing out. "I was listening at the door," she blurted, looking to be on the verge of tears.

Nodding understandingly, Kate said, "It's okay, Maddie, nobody's mad at you, I promise. But this is really important. Do you remember what you heard?"

* * *

><p>She waved fondly as Maddie turned back before disappearing into the elevator with Annalisa. The smile on her face wasn't manufactured at all; just a natural response to an incredibly sweet girl.<p>

"Well?" Esposito asked.

"We've got a name. Alan – not a lot to go on but-"

"-We can go back to the crime scene, see if there are any calendar appointments with an Alan, check the address books. We'll run it by friends and relatives, colleagues too, see if the name rings any bells," Espo nodded, picking up on her train of thought. "Ryan and I will get right on it. Thanks, by the way."

She accepted his thanks with a nod, making her way back to her desk with Rick trailing behind her. After running through Madeline's memories of the day her parents were murdered, she had quickly shown her a picture of Marcus DeWitt, hoping to check that he hadn't been lying when he said he hadn't known the Cleavers. With Maddie not recognising him, it was a safe bet that he had nothing to do with Monica and James' murders.

At the murder board, she took down Marcus' picture and rubbed off his name, instead, writing the name Alan with a question mark under the title of suspects. It wasn't a lot to go on, but it was possible that something would turn up under the name if she went through Rachel's phone records or spoke to her friends again. Who knew, maybe the boys would find something that would tell them more about this Alan when they searched the Cleaver's apartment.

* * *

><p>Castle nudged her as the boys returned, both of them carrying evidence bags.<p>

"No mention of an Alan on the calendar and we couldn't find an address book," Ryan began, "But I had a brain wave." Holding up the evidence bag in his hand for them to see, he exclaimed, "Photo albums."

"Smart," Kate nodded, accepting a photo album from Javi and flipping it open. Luckily for them, beside each photo was a small paragraph, stating the date, who was in each frame and what the occasion was. The first few photos were just of Monica Cleaver, though there soon followed a couple of she and her husband together before Maddie appeared, a tiny baby dwarfed in James' arms. From that point on most of the photographs were devoted to documenting every phase of Madeline's childhood – her first tooth, her first birthday party, her first day of school, her first Halloween.

"She was a pumpkin," Rick chuckled, touching his finger to the glossy photo of Maddie, apparently taken just a few months previously when she took her first trip trick or treating with her parents.

"You didn't dress Alexis as a pumpkin, did you?"

He smirked, before replying, "I tried, but she wasn't having any of it. No, Alexis' first Halloween, she was a Smurf. Her second Halloween though, when she was three, she went as the Wicked Witch of the West. The face paint wouldn't come off for days and everywhere we went, I received plenty of judging looks because of the green tint to her skin."

Kate smiled. It was impossible not to. Rick always had such great stories about the things he and Alexis had gotten up to when she was younger. They were infinitely close, having a relationship she almost envied, even if it was suffering now with the appearance of Pi. His ability as a parent, the soft and gentle side of him that, in the beginning of their partnership, had only appeared when he was around Alexis, was the first thing she had begun to admire about him. Listening to him describe each of Alexis' Halloweens, the various costumes she'd worn – including what was obviously a pretty special gender-bend version of Chucky from _Bride of Chucky _– she couldn't help imagining what kind of antics Castle would be able to get up to with one of their kids. It was a satisfying image in her head: Rick strolling into the precinct with a toddler dangling off his hand. And she didn't have the slightest idea where it came from. They hadn't even talked about kids once, except in the context of Alexis. Would he want to have another child? But with her? Did she even want a child?

Until that moment it wasn't something she'd really stopped to think about. Sure, when she'd been younger and she'd envisioned her future, she'd seen herself married with 2.0 kids while working a successful job. She had part of that future, she knew. But never once had she thought she'd end up being a cop instead of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And once she was a cop, she barely had time to think about going serious with her relationships – not that she'd ever wanted to anyway – let alone whether kids were a possibility now.

Now she was with Rick though, maybe it was something to consider.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I decided to keep this one a bit shorter (in confession, mainly because I almost forgot to update and wrote the second half of this in a rush…) Hopefully you guys enjoyed it anyway. Let me know what you think and any theories you may have about where the storyline is going or about the case (though that's probably a lot more ambiguous right now.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much Moochiecat, southerngirl1, Larry Holmes, htbuzz, kramerjp, hfce, TORONTOSUN, jellybean96, phnxgrl, alwayscastle2 and any anonymous reviewers. Your support means the world.**

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><p>She sighed and set her phone down on the counter, wondering why they couldn't seem to catch a break with this case. Their plan to find this Alan, who'd apparently murdered the Cleavers in their photo albums, had completely fallen through. None of Monica Cleaver's neat notations bore any reference to an Alan. And the text she'd just received from Esposito let her know that neither James nor Monica worked with any Alan at their respective companies. If she hadn't taken a personal day in order to help Castle pack and send him on his way to the airport, she'd be slogging her way through calls and interviews just like Kevin and Javi. Instead, she was supposed to be relaxing at the breakfast bar with her bowl of chopped fruit, a lukewarm cup of coffee that she'd been neglecting for some time now and the morning's newspaper that she hadn't even read a word of.<p>

She barely noticed Rick wander out of the bedroom in just his robe, hair still dripping from his shower and steam spiralling off his heated skin in the cooler air. He took one look at her coffee after grabbing the milk from the fridge and pouring himself a glass of it. "Everything okay?"

"Hmm?"

"Your coffee…"

"What about it?" Kate asked, dragging her eyes up from their careful inspection of all of the different coloured grey flecks in the counter.

"Well, it's almost cold and you've barely drank any of it-"

She sighed, interrupting him. "I'm just worried we're going to have to question Maddie again, see if she remembers her parents ever saying something about this Alan before he came and murdered them."

He pursed his lips. Coming to stand behind her, where he could rest his hands on her shoulders and press a kiss to the top of her head, he replied, "I know it's not ideal, but if that's what happens then it happens, Kate. And you'll handle it perfectly because you've got Maddie's best interests at heart – you can't ask for anything more than that."

She smiled softly, slightly enamoured by his faith in her. It showed more and more every day, and really she didn't think she'd done much to allow his opinion of her to be built so high, certainly she hadn't done enough for Maddie for him to make some kind of comment on how she was acting like a parent. At least, in her head, it sounded like that was what he was saying. Did that mean he wanted to talk about kids?

Suddenly her mind was racing. Was she ready for kids? She couldn't deny that there was a longing deep in her chest, that the picture of coming home to an almost silent apartment and finding Rick leaning back in his chair and typing Nikki and Rook's latest adventure with a peacefully asleep baby boy lying on his chest made her kind of want to jump up and down in a circle like a teenage girl asked out for the first time. The last two days it had been almost all she could think about. But did that mean she should come off the pill straight away?

Before she could ask him whether his reassurance was some sort of subtle hint that he thought she was ready for motherhood, he had walked back into the bedroom.

Shaking her head, she told herself she was reading too much into the situation and took her first sip of coffee before spitting the mouthful back into the mug.

"Gross," she mumbled, swallowing her own saliva reflexively to try and rid her mouth of the taste of cold coffee. Sighing, she emptied out the mug in the sink and returned to her breakfast, spearing a piece of kiwi with her fork. Her hands flipped the newspaper open while she ate, somehow turning the pages until she reached the section on books and reviews. It was still open when Rick reappeared, now wearing jeans and an unbuttoned shirt.

"Still number one on the bestseller's list?"

"Don't let it go to your head," Kate warned in answer.

"Bit of a problem there," Rick mumbled, ducking behind one of the kitchen counters. "It already has."

Rolling her eyes, Kate just put another strawberry in her mouth, not even startling when his head popped back into view.

"Do you know what happened to that sock I threw somewhere over here the other day?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "Why would I? I was in the bedroom. You know, this is why you should just drop stuff into the laundry bin, or at least hold off on the throwing until your aim gets better."

"Ooh, look at you, you're not turning into one of those wives who spends all her time moaning and griping already, are you? It's only been a month."

"You're not turning into one of those husbands who never gets to have sex with his wife because he pisses her off too much, are you?"

"Point taken," he said, holding his hands up in apology and bringing a smirk to Kate's face.

"Why's this sock so important anyway?"

"It's one of my Batman ones. I always take my Batman socks on book tours ever since Alexis bought me them the first time I had to leave her here."

Checking her father's old watch on her wrist, Kate resigned herself to going on a sock hunt. "Why don't you go and finish getting dressed and packed. I'll find the sock. You'll be late for the airport otherwise."

* * *

><p>Finally, after she pulled his sock out from the gap between the oven and the dishwasher –though how it got there, she had no idea – they were on their way. In the back of the town car, she listened to him run through his flight details, mentally making a note of the time he expected to be checked into his hotel room. He would probably call her first, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared in case she wanted to get the jump on him. While he talked though, she was back to thinking about whether she should say something about believing she might be ready to have kids with him. Was it right to offload something like that on him when they wouldn't have a proper opportunity to discuss it afterwards?<p>

If he noticed she seemed preoccupied still, he didn't comment on it. He just kept trying to engage her in conversation instead until their driver had brought them to JFK International Airport and stopped in the car park, getting Rick's luggage from the boot himself.

It brought a vague sense of déjà vu to Kate, standing at the departure gate with him again. This time she wouldn't be heading through it with him though.

"I'll Skype you as soon as I'm unpacked," he promised, squeezing her in a tight hug.

Nodding, she tightened her own arms about him and pressed her lips to his.

"I'll be here to pick you up on the 20th," she assured him, having come to the conclusion that it would be better to wait a while until he returned for two weeks over Christmas before trying to talk to him about extending their family. Instead, when he Skyped her, she would just tell him about what she ended up getting up to with Lanie after saying goodbye to him, and ask how his hotel was and how he thought he'd spend his downtime. Because his book tour had been split in two and he was hitting more stores than Gina had originally intended, _Black Pawn _were being charitable and had decided to give him some days here and there without a signing.

He sighed and reluctantly released her from his embrace.

While he walked through the gate, she stayed and waited until he was out of sight before going back out to the car park and asking the driver Rick had hired for the day, Billy, to take her over to Lanie's apartment. She could have just headed back to the loft but she didn't want to be treading on Alexis and Pi's toes.

* * *

><p>"Castle's off touring again then?"<p>

"Yeah," Kate answered, "Off to Providence first."

Lanie nodded, continuing along the sidewalk; oblivious to the fact that Kate had stopped walking until her question about whether she would fly out to see him went unanswered. "Kate?" Whirling around, Lanie searched for her best friend amid the busy street, double-taking as she saw her staring into the window of _Babies R Us. _"Is there something you have to tell me, Kate Beckett?" she demanded, joining her at the storefront.

"What? No!"

"Oh my God, you are so pregnant! How far along are you?!"

"Lanie!" Kate gasped.

"When did you find out? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I'm not pregnant, that's why."

"You're not?"

"Gee, do you have to be so disappointed, Lanie?"

"Sorry, I just, you know, thought I was going to get to be an aunt and you know it…kinda went straight to my head." Kate nodded understandingly at Lanie's explanation. "If you're not pregnant though, why are you staring into the _Babies R Us _window," she enquired.

Kate shrugged. She honestly wasn't sure. They'd just been walking past when something in the corner of her eye had caught her attention and she'd paused, looking directly at a onesie. There was nothing remotely special about it, except for the little family of elephants all walking in a line across the chest of the piece, holding onto each other's tails, but somehow it captivated her.

"Are you and Castle…talking about kids?"

"No."

"But you want to," Lanie guessed.

Sighing, Kate asked, "Is that crazy? We only just got married and suddenly I want kids. I swear I'm turning into some kind of broody, obsessed woman. It's ridiculous, isn't it? You can be honest."

"Kate, honey, it's not crazy at all." One of Lanie's hands reached out and squeezed Kate's arm. "Come on, let's get out of the cold and have a coffee and we'll talk about it."

"Sure." Kate gave one last glance at the elephant patterned babygrow before stepped away from the window and taking a few quick steps, lengthening her stride enough that she soon drew level with her best friend.

* * *

><p>When Kate left the little coffee shop she and Lanie had ended up in she felt much cheerier than when she had left Rick at the airport. Between them, she and Lanie had really talked through Kate's recent feelings and decided that when Rick was back for Christmas, broaching the topic would be wise. Besides, it wasn't like Rick would say no. They both knew he loved kids, would jump at the chance to father another one. Brimming with happiness as she was, Kate sent the driver on his way and, regardless of the distance, strolled home enjoying the blustery breeze on her face and the smell of freshly baked bagels from a café she passed.<p>

If the sandy haired boy dangling on his mother's arm staring and smiling at her while they waited to cross the road wasn't a sign that everything would work out, she didn't know what was.

She shook her head at that thought while the elevator took her up to the floor their loft occupied. If Rick were there, he would have been acting very smug. He couldn't resist the chance to remind her how different, how closed off she'd been when they first met and marvel at all the things he managed to bring out in her. He'd been incredibly surprised to discover she actually enjoyed cuddling and snuggling outside of the bedroom when they first started dating. Now there wasn't much else she had to surprise him with except for her readiness for kids.

She was still smiling as she unlocked the front door and stepped inside, dropping her bag and keys on kitchen counter, freezing as the unmistakable sound of crying hit her ears.

Hesitantly, she called out, "Alexis?" She winced while waiting for her step-daughter to answer. Was this a moment she should be intruding on?

"Oh, Kate, you're back," Alexis said, appearing at the top of the stairs still teary-eyed and red faced.

"Is everything okay? Where's Pi?" She asked, looking around the apartment.

"He left," Alexis whispered, sitting herself down on one of the stairs.

Crossing the room, Kate sat beside the redhead and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling Alexis into her side where she promptly began crying again. "What happened? Did you fight?"

It took her a few moments to decipher Alexis' blubbered reply. But once she had, she was murmuring soothing things into her ear, trying to find the right things to say.

"He said I was too serious, that we didn't fit."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, you know. Alexis, you have drive and ambition, but you also know when to sit back and relax, when to have fun. That's something that took me years to learn, and even then, your dad still has to remind me sometimes. Maybe Pi wasn't the right guy, but I promise he'll come along eventually."

Alexis nodded and wiped her eyes. "I just want to find what you and Dad have. You fit so well even though you're so different."

"You'll find it." Confiding in Alexis, Kate revealed, "I didn't think I'd ever find what your dad and I share. I spent so long in other relationships, the ones that were nothing like the commitment I feel to Rick, the love we have for each other, that I didn't actually recognise what I was even feeling at first. You're already one step ahead than I was when I was your age Alexis. One of these days, you're going to meet a great guy, a guy who makes you smile and laugh when you're angry and annoyed, a guy who wants what's best for you, who'll put your interests above almost anything. It'll happen as long as you let it."

"Thanks, Kate," Alexis mumbled, starting to look embarrassed by the situation.

Smiling gently, Kate squeezed her shoulders gently once before standing up and asking, "Ice cream or popcorn?"

Alexis grinned deviously, every bit her father's daughter as she replied, "Both."

"Great. I'll get the food, you choose the movie."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So nothing on the case this chapter, but hopefully still an interesting chapter. Let me know what you think! On a side note, I don't have enough time to properly read through this chapter this week because I'm in the pressure cooker with my essays. So, if you do find a mistake or typo, feel free to let me know and I will go back and correct it. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's a shorter chapter this week guys since I've had a mad week of essay writing and packing up ready to go home again, so I thought maybe it would be fun to have a chapter focusing on Rick out on his booktour. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story and put it in their favourites and alerts. **

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><p>It had been a day. A day. Twenty four whole hours. And already he missed her like crazy. The bed was empty without her, cold despite the warm temperature the hotel maintained in the room. True to his word, he'd unzipped his laptop bag and taken out the Apple Macbook the second he was alone in his room, booting it up in no time. Skype automatically loaded up for him and then it was just a small matter of waiting for Kate to come online before he could speak to her and then say goodnight before hanging up and heading to bed.<p>

At the sound of Paula knocking on his door, each impact of her knuckles insistent and loud, he groaned and rolled over, pulling one of the spare pillows over his head.

"Richard Castle, if you know what's good for you, you'll come out here and open this door before I go and get a member of staff to do it for me!" his agent threatened.

Grumbling to himself, he stood, wrapping the duvet around his mostly naked body as he ambled to the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes with his closed fists.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" he called, growing annoyed with the continued banging noise. The door was light in his hand as he wrenched it open with what was probably far too much force than strictly needed. "What?"

"Gina's set up an interview for you. You need to be ready in thirty minutes. David Logue from _Providence Journal_ will be in the bar. Just whatever you do, don't give too much information about _Raging Heat_."

"I know, I know," he yawned.

Paula let herself into the room as he stepped back from the door and went back to the wardrobe he'd made sure to hang his clothes in to avoid creases, pulling down a pair of grey dress pants. His black shirt was the next thing he pulled on, then the jacket that matched his trousers. He could have picked a tie out himself, he was sure, but Paula stepped in and pulled down a striped blue one for him anyway, flinging it at his chest before leaving the suite with just a call of, "Don't fuck it up, Rick," over her shoulder.

"Don't fuck it up, Rick," he mocked, pulling a face. "Does she think I'm a rookie at this? Please."

* * *

><p>The hotel lobby was a little crowded, but it was easy to discern David Logue from the crowd. Although he was sat in a sea of men dressed smartly in suits or shirts and ties, it didn't even take Rick's writerly observances to work out his identity. The proudly displayed press pass was a dead giveaway. Still, he'd have guessed the guy was a journalist from the leather messenger bag on the couch next to him and the sturdy black glasses perched on his nose. Even the man's hair – carefully set and well-trimmed – was stereotypical of a news reporter.<p>

Adjusting his tie, Rick plastered a charming grin across his face and strode across to the small area of couches just beside the bar. He was still a good three metres away when his interviewer caught sight of him and jumped to his feet.

"Richard Castle!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone in the bar as well as the people queuing for the reception desk.

"Call me Rick."

* * *

><p>"So is there a title for <em>Nikki Heat's <em>sixth adventure?" Logue enquired.

Nodding, Rick answered, "Yep. Hot off the press too. I only just had it cleared with my publishers, _Black Pawn, _but I can officially say that the next _Nikki Heat _book will be titled _Raging Heat_."

"Any chance you can give us a few sneaky hints on what the novel's plot might be?"

Rick laughed, trying his hardest to make it sound simultaneously genuine and easy. "I'm afraid not. My agent and publisher would strangle me if I released that information. Plus, there's still a lot of work to be done on the book."

"That's right, you just got back from your honeymoon."

Nodding, Rick continued, "It's not coming out until September. I may change my mind on the plot – it's happened before."

Logue jotted down a few odd notes in his notebook – a task that seemed slightly unimportant when there was a Dictaphone with a mini microphone pointing in his direction.

"So you've been married, what, a month now? How's it going so far?"

Shifting in his seat, Rick took a moment before replying. As far as he was aware, the interview was supposed to be about raising awareness of his book tour and his next book, boosting sales; not his and Kate's personal lives. "Kate and I are very happy, thank you." Luckily for him, that was the only question David Logue asked him about his recent marriage. After that, Rick was able to just talk about which cities his tour was hitting and what he might get up to on his days off. He was still thankful when the reporter turned off the recording equipment and stowed it away in his beg, even more so when they shook hands and went their separate ways – Logue to the hotel entrance and he back up to his hotel room.

As soon as he let himself in with his key card, he loosened his tie and flung it over the back of a chair. His suit jacket swiftly followed, such was his determination to relax for at least a few minutes. The idea of returning to bed, maybe napping, was incredibly alluring; but before he could flop face first onto the plush mattress, his phone began ringing.

"Kate!" he exclaimed as soon as he had slid his thumb across the screen to accept her call.

"Hey," she replied, sounding kind of surprised by his enthusiastic greeting. "How's Providence?"

"Fine."

There was a slight pause before she said, "You haven't left the hotel, have you?"

"I've left the hotel _room_…"

Chuckling, Kate scolded him. "You should head out and get some fresh air! I thought you'd at least want to go to the Athenaeum, you know follow in Poe's footsteps."

"Maybe tomorrow," he yawned.

"Okay," she relented. "I was actually calling to give you some news."

"News?"

"Yeah, about the case – Rachel's case, that is."

"Yeah?" he asked, feeling his excitement rise again.

"We caught a lead-"

"-That's great!"

"Thanks," Kate murmured.

"So what is it?"

"We might know who it was that was threatening Rachel. According to one of her friends who was out of town when we were questioning Debbie, Maggie, Hayley and Samantha, Rachel had an impulse problem-"

"-You mean she was a shopaholic," he interrupted.

"Yeah, babe, she was a shopaholic, had quite a bad credit situation actually, so she couldn't afford her dad's medical treatment or the care home that he's now in, even with selling the apartment. Ryan printed out mugshots of all the loan sharks we have on file to show to Henry, and he recognised one of them. We've got a BOLO out on him now."

"You think it was him?"

"I don't know, Rick. Hopefully, this guy can at least help us get to the bottom of Rachel's murder."

"So did she say anything else, this friend?"

"Just that Rachel was considering quitting her job. I'm meeting with her boss soon to discuss whether she'd handed in her resignation or spoken to her about it. Henry didn't tell us that Rachel was leaving though."

Rick nodded. It seemed like they were finally getting some traction on the case. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't even there.

* * *

><p>The next morning he woke to the sound of his alarm, tightened his grip on his pillow and moaned, "Kate, turn it off," before remembering she was back in New York and blearily opening one eye to search for his phone and shut up the beeping. Sighing, he threw back the covers and rolled into a sitting position, feet hitting the polished wooden floors as he stretched out the kinks in his back. He needed to stop sleeping on his front – it did his posture no good.<p>

It was his first signing though and all that was required of him was sitting in a chair for a few hours before grabbing his laptop and heading to a coffee shop with a view where he could try and get some writing done or Skype Alexis while Kate was out at work. So he yawned and stretched once more before pushing his weight onto his feet and standing. With any luck, he could be dressed and down in the restaurant for breakfast before Paula came knocking on his door.

* * *

><p>The signing had passed by quickly, though it wasn't the busiest event he'd ever held. As soon as the last book had been signed and the line of people waiting dissipated, he was up, grabbing his laptop bag from Paula, and leaving. The coffee shop he was sat in caught his attention while he was walking along the riverfront. The sign outside advertising exciting blends of coffee and unusual flavours had piqued his curiosity to the point his feet had carried him across the threshold before he'd even finished reading.<p>

"Hi, what can I get you?" the barista – a young girl dressed in a green apron with a row of charity pins and badges across the neck – asked, smiling brightly at him.

"Er…" Stumbling to look at the menu of drinks above her head, he skim-read every item before deciding he would try what the shop had called the 'Nutty Maple Latte' and handing over the appropriate amount of money for it.

"Coming right up. Go on and take a seat, I'll bring it over to you."

Nodding his thanks, Rick unhooked his laptop bag from his shoulder and chose a seat near the window where he could appreciate the view and watch the people passing by. Within minutes, just as he was opening what he had of _Raging Heat _so far, the barista – whose name tag he now saw read Angie – placed his cup of coffee down on the table along with a small selection of cookies.

"Another writer, huh?"

"Sorry?" Rick asked, looking up in confusion.

"You're an author, right?" she replied, placing her now empty tray under one arm so she could point at his laptop screen. He nodded cautiously, wondering if she recognised him. "You're the second we've had in today, though Tim over there is a regular." He followed her faze over to the college-age kid working with a pen and paper, scrawling furiously across the page. "Anyway, I'll let you get on."

"Thanks," he murmured, turning his eyes away from the kid and back to his computer screen.

He took a few moments to reread the last few sentences

"_Someone should call the meteorologists," Rook said while looking up and scanning the sky._

_Heat shared a look with detectives Raley and Ochoa before asking the question they were all thinking. "Why?"_

"_Because it is literally raining men!"_

There was something about that line that just didn't quite read right. Sighing, Rick picked up his coffee and took a sip while he thought of a few variations of the sentence, trying to figure out which one sounded best.

"Huh." _Damn good coffee._

The cup was soon finished, the cookies ignored in favour of the rich sweetness and almost woodsy flavour of the latte. He'd yet to think of a solution to his problem, but the plot of the story was continuing to unfold on the page before him.

_Heat rolled her eyes. She knew there was a reason she had almost said no when he'd asked if he could give her a lift into work. The only reason she hadn't was because he had only just returned from his assignment in Europe the night before and she wanted to spend some more time with him, even if it was just thirty minutes extra in the car. It would have been fine if she hadn't received a call about a body minutes after they had left her apartment. He'd promised to get a taxi from the scene, knowing how urgent it was that she got there swiftly, but once he saw the body lying on top of a car that looked as if a small missile had been dropped onto it there was she knew he would be hanging around._

"_Actually, Rook," Lauren Parry said, "our vic here was thrown from quite a height. Judging from the trajectory, it doesn't even look as if he was pushed from one of these buildings."_

"_Have we got any ID yet?"_

_Ochoa held up an evidence bag containing the victim's wallet. _

Rick startled as noise starting coming from his laptop speakers – the odd ringtone for Skype. It was Alexis calling though, so he saved his progress and maximised the calling programme.

"Hi Daddy," his daughter said.

"Alexis," he grinned, before looking past her pale, smiling face and noticing that the décor of the wall behind her was not something that could be found in the loft. "Where are you?"

"Oh, I'm in my dorm room. Kelly just left so I thought I'd call you." She smiled again. "So, how's the tour?"

He frowned, wondering why she'd gone back to the dorms at NYU. Before he left for Providence, she'd been perfectly happy to stay at home and commute to the campus whenever she had classes. Still, if Alexis wasn't going to tell him why, he could always ask Kate later.

"So far so good," he told her. "I just had the best coffee – it's got maple syrup in it!"

* * *

><p>"I love you Dad!"<p>

"Bye, Pumpkin, I love you."

Disconnecting the call, Rick leaned back in his chair and ate one of his cookies – something ginger-flavoured. After speaking with Alexis, he'd lost the flow of exactly where he was heading with his current chapter. The view of the winter sun shining harsh and bright on the river, light reflecting off the surface was much more appealing. Finishing up his cookies, Rick brushed the crumbs off his hands before shutting down his laptop and placing it back in his bag. He waved a goodbye to Angie and then left, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face in the oddly absent breeze. It was oddly mild for the middle of November.

Remembering what Kate had said the evening before about the library, he pulled up Google maps on his phone and started walking.

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><p><strong>AN: So, like I said, a relatively short chapter, but hopefully it was still interesting. As always let me know what you think! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you so much everyone who's following this story. I'm so grateful for your feedback. Apologies for this slightly late update. It's been a busy weekend, and I'm still rushing to get this up. My check for mistakes has been very quick, so there may still be some things in there. If you spot a typo or an error of any kind please do let me know. Otherwise, I hope you like this chapter. **

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><p>Kate woke to the smell of coffee percolating, the aromatic scent pulling her from dreams of a perfect little blue eyed boy. Smiling, she shucked the comforter and joined Alexis out in the kitchen.<p>

"Since when did you start liking coffee so much?" she asked, tying the cord of her robe. It was the third morning since Rick had left that she'd found her stepdaughter in the kitchen with a mug of coffee.

Alexis just shrugged and laughed her question off with a, "I've always liked coffee, Kate."

Still, she wasn't quite convinced. Sure, Alexis would occasionally join she and Rick for a coffee, but she usually drank mocha rather than straight coffee. Judging from the colour of her drink, it didn't even look like there was that much milk in it. When she'd finished filling her own cup, the difference between the two was quite surprising.

"Did you speak to your dad yesterday? Tell him you were moving back into your dorm room?"

"Yeah, he said he'd speak to you today. Thanks for all the help moving my stuff back by the way. I've just got one more suitcase and two boxes left."

"I can drop them round this morning or this evening," Kate offered. If they'd hired a small moving van, it could have all been done in one journey, but with just her squad car, Kate had been forced into making a few trips. Not that she minded of course. It would be quiet and lonely for the most part in the loft once Alexis had moved all her stuff back to NYU. Martha only seemed to appear every so often, spending the majority of her time overseeing her drama students, especially now her little school had enjoyed an influx of newcomers ever since their latest play had won good media attention.

"Haven't you got a lead to chase up this morning?"

"Yeah, but the boys can start without me."

"It's okay, Kate. This evening is fine – gives me more time to have a last minute check through this place to make sure I've not forgotten anything."

"If you're sure-"

"-I'm sure," Alexis promised, smiling easily.

* * *

><p>While the boys slogged their way through the Cleavers' financials yet again, looking for any trace that they could be involved with the loan shark Rachel had borrowed money from, Beckett was heading out to meet with the woman who ran <em>Six Degrees of Celebration, <em>Joan Glenn.

Walking through the familiar entrance hall, Kate couldn't help remembering the last time she had been to the building that was occupied by the event planning business. It had been just after Rachel's death, when everything was still so fresh. The only thing that made her able to smile was remembering Castle's fussing in the elevator. Her scheduled meeting with Henry and his and Rachel's boss was in the conference room though, so there would be nothing else to remind her of those awful few days.

"Detective Beckett, please come in and sit down," Henry said, standing and apparently waiting for her outside the open door. She nodded her thanks and followed his instructions, introducing herself and shaking hands with the auburn-haired woman who had to be Joan Glenn while Henry shut the door behind her and gave the meeting its privacy.

"How can we help you Detective Beckett?"

"I have a few questions about Rachel's professional decisions. One of her friends recently mentioned to me that she was considering leaving _Six Degrees of Celebration_-"

"-That's correct. Rachel and I had spoken about it. Your wedding was to be the last one she planned for us. She was going to hand in her resignation to me as soon as soon as her job was done."

"Right," Beckett nodded, glad that Joan's account confirmed what she had been told by Jennifer Leyland just the day before. "Were you aware that Rachel was planning to set up her own wedding planning business?"

"No. Though obviously that's not the kind of thing Rachel would tell me if we were to be competitors."

"What about you, Henry? Did you know?"

Rachel's former assistant looked awkward, shifting in his seat and shooting a fearful look towards his boss before replying quietly, "Yeah, I knew. Can't say I thought it was wise, but she'd told me she wanted to start up her own business so she could delegate and have more control over her hours."

Kate nodded. She'd thought as much. With everything that had happened in Rachel's life – her father's debilitating illness and the news that the daughter she'd only just begun to get into contact with was also seriously ill – it was only natural that she would re-evaluate what was important in her life. It was an educated guess, however, that the reason Rachel had wanted to start her own business where she would have more of an overseeing role was so that she would have more time to spend with Madeline Cleaver.

"And she never changed her mind? She still intended to leave?"

"As far as I know," Henry answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"This business she was going to set up? Do you have any idea how she was going to finance that?"

Both Joan and Henry pulled equal expressions of innocent oblivion, minutely shaking their heads. Studying their faces, the way the push of Henry's bottom lip up into his upper was mirrored on Joan's, Kate decided that she could trust them.

"When I saw you yesterday, Henry you identified this man, Jamie Alanson – said you saw him speaking with Rachel one day." She held up the printed photo of their suspect in all his tattooed glory for both Joan and Henry to see again. "Were you aware that this man is a loan shark or that Rachel had difficulties acquiring the funds to move her father into a care home?"

* * *

><p>"Beckett, I need an update on this case," Gates requested the second Kate entered the bullpen.<p>

"Sir."

Shutting the office door behind her, Kate stood opposite her boss and met her expectant gaze. "I just spoke with Joan Glenn. Rachel hadn't handed in her notice, but as far as we can tell, she still intended to leave and start her own business. We won't know for certain until we find Alanson, but it would seem that that was what she received the second sum of money for."

"And where are we on finding him?"

"So far we've got nothing. It's been almost twenty four hours and we've had no reports of sightings or arrests from any of the cities precincts. Espo was going to put some feelers out in Robbery, to see if any of their guys might know which parts of the city Alanson operates in."

"Keep at it," Gates instructed. "What about this business of Ms Winter's? Could that have been a motive for her boss?"

"Joan didn't seem to know anything about it, but it's possible," Kate replied, admitting that her read of the late-forties events planner could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time she had bought into a murderer's story. Joan Glenn didn't strike her as the next 3XK though.

Gates nodded thoughtfully, processing everything Detective Beckett had told her. "For now Alanson seems our most likely suspect so I want you to keep working that."

"Sir."

Ryan looked up from his computer as Gates' office door clicked shut. Nodding at Beckett, he pushed back from his computer slightly.

"Find anything?"

"No. Everything in these financials is normal, completely above board. Unless the Cleavers had a secret second bank account, they didn't have any involvement with Jamie Alanson. Judging from this account they wouldn't have had any need for one though."

Sighing, Kate perched on the edge of her desk. "Who knows, maybe Alan isn't Alanson. It could just be coincidental. We still don't know for certain that we're looking for the same killer."

"Though the lack of crime scene evidence would suggest that whoever murdered Rachel is also responsible for James and Monica Cleavers' deaths. Most people aren't that meticulous in removing trace evidence or not leaving any in the first place." Kate watched as he pushed his hands through his hair and turned his neck, stretching out the muscles to get rid of tension.

"You look tired, Ry."

He didn't deny it. "Sarah Grace didn't want to sleep at all last night. Colick."

"If you want a break any time, just say the word. You know Rick and I would be happy to watch her. You and Jenny must be craving some time to yourselves." It had been a week into their honeymoon when Kate and Rick had received a phone call from Kevin to tell them that Jenny had gone into premature labour and given birth to a healthy – thankfully – six pound baby girl, though with the two cases they were currently working, she and Rick hadn't yet had time to actually see the newest member of their extended family.

"Thanks, I might have to take you up on that offer. It's only one o'clock and I've already had three espressos. I don't think I can cope with more sleepless nights."

* * *

><p>"Yo Beckett, I just got back from meeting Blake. I've got a possible location for Alanson."<p>

"Let's go," she responded, immediately grabbing her grey peacoat and walking with Esposito to the elevator.

"Ryan not coming?"

Beckett shook her head. "Poor guy's wiped out. I told him to take a quick nap on the breakroom couch while Gates is out for lunch."

"This is why babies are a bad thing."

"You don't want kids, Javi?"

"I'm a lone wolf, Beckett. I can't be tied down," he said, piling on the charm that he usually reserved for picking up girls at _The Old Haunt_ and the other bars and clubs they sometimes frequented.

Rolling her eyes, Kate couldn't help commenting, "Why do you keep going back to Lanie then?"

Espo's eyes bulged comically. "You know?"

"Know what?" she asked innocently.

"Don't you bat your eyelashes at me, Beckett. You know what I'm talking about," he hissed, shooting warning glances at the desk sergeant and detectives and uniforms filling the entrance to the 12th Precinct as they stepped out onto the street.

"You mean the fact that you and Lanie ended up in bed together after my wedding reception?" Kate left Esposito stuttering as she rounded the car and got in on the passenger side. "Hurry up. We haven't got all day, Espo!"

* * *

><p>Jamie Alanson was not a pleasant man to look at. His mouth was drooped on one side in a permanent scowl – an unfortunate scar from a bar brawl that had resulted in one of his teeth splitting his lip – despite his young twenty eight years. Although he was close in age to Rachel, that was where any similarities between them ended. While Rachel dressed professionally in well-tailored suits and designer clothes, Alanson sat in their interrogation room in a baseball cap and a grease-stained vest that left most of his tattoos on show, and a tattered pair of ripped jeans.<p>

Entering the interrogation room together, Esposito sat first, drawing their suspect's attention. It was their designated play – force Alanson into seeing Espo in a position of power. While his focus was on Javi, Kate was free to make her observations, and could at any point during the interview supersede Esposito's dominance. Though she was used to being in charge during interrogations, she'd noticed in the past that Castle sometimes took advantage of how most of their perps didn't pay him much heed. It made him more useful in a way. Oftentimes his observances meant that the questions he asked were more poignant, catching 'dirt bags' out on their lies. In the observation room, they'd decided too that Espo would hit hard and fast.

"Why'd you kill Rachel Winters, Jamie?"

"I didn't."

Espo shared a look with Beckett. Neither of them had expected the loan shark to immediately confess, but neither had they figured he'd be such a cool cucumber.

"You loaned her money, she didn't pay it back, there's gotta be a repercussion for that though, right?"

Alanson shrugged. "Who says I loaned her anything?"

"Her bank records."

"Okay, so I gave her some money. 'S'far as I'm aware charity's not exactly a crime."

"You're calling yourself a charitable benefactor?"

"I give people money when they need it," Alanson pointed out.

"Yeah and demand it back with exorbitant interest," Beckett bit out, speaking for the first time and drawing their suspect's appraising eyes. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The number of criminals who walked through their precinct doors and couldn't see past her pretty face both irked and astounded her. "So how much did you charge Rachel?"

"I told you. Nothing."

"You expect us to believe that you just gave her ten thousand dollars? Just like that? No interest? No repayment scheme of any kind?"

"Well she was my cousin," Alanson said.

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><p><strong>AN: I decided to end it here. Let me know your thoughts!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: You guys are awesome! I can't believe how many of you are following this story! All I can say is thank you. I'm just glad that you guys like what I'm doing. **

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><p>"<em>You expect us to believe that you just gave her ten thousand dollars? Just like that? No interest? No repayment scheme of any kind?"<em>

"_Well she was my cousin," Alanson said._

* * *

><p>Beckett sat in shock. "She was your <em>cousin?<em>"

"Yeah, twice removed on her mother's side," he elaborated, shrugging because he didn't understand why his family tree was such a big issue.

In the observation room, Gates closed her eyes. They'd really thought that Alanson was their culprit but with this revelation it looked like they would be going back to the proverbial drawing board. Twenty minutes later that was how she found Detective Beckett – staring down the murder board as if it would suddenly highlight the name or picture of their murderer in flashing yellow lights.

"So Alanson's not our guy?"

"Nope. Ryan just checked. They really were cousins. He gave Rachel the money to get her father into his care home which squares with what we saw in her financials – a significant portion of the transfer went straight towards paying her father's fees. Apparently it was a long-term loan that Rachel would eventually pay back when her business had taken off. As soon as her father's apartment sold; she'd have enough money coupled with the remainder of Jamie Alanson's loan to get her company off the ground."

"And he doesn't have any other information for us to follow up?"

"Sorry, Sir."

Gates sighed. She knew Beckett was working this case as thoroughly if not as hard as she'd run her mother's. But the likelihood of finding Rachel Winters' killer was becoming even slimmer as each of their leads came to nothing. Against all of their better judgement, the evidence of their victim's involvement with a loan shark had made each of them more than hope that they had finally caught their guy.

"Beckett!"

Looking up, Kate saw Esposito hurrying towards her.

"Yeah?"

"I was just organising Alanson's release, bringing him up from holding when he asked if we'd spoken to her boyfriend-"

Kate's brow furrowed. "Boyfriend? She didn't have a boyfriend-"

"Exactly! Nobody else we spoke to knew anything about Rachel being in a relationship. We need to re-interview Jamie, see if he knows who this guy is."

"Call the front desk; don't let Alanson leave the building!" Beckett ordered, pointing at Ryan even as she ran for the stairs, not trusting the elevator to get her to the ground floor in time to stop Rachel's cousin from leaving the building before she could speak to him. She was breathless by the time she had hurtled down three flights of stairs and sprinted the length of the 12th Precinct's entrance room. It took a flash of her eyes to the right to notice the desk sergeant with the phone to his ear, probably speaking to Ryan, and her heart sank. She slowed, breathing deeply while searching for the faded red vest Alanson had been wearing and his spiky short brown hair; believing it was a vain effort and that he'd already left the building. Spotting him literally with one foot out of the open front door, her voice was full of authority as she called out, "Alanson, stop right there!"

She watched Jamie Alanson raise his hands in the air and slowly rotate on the spot, sarcastically saying, "Great. What is it I've supposedly done now?"

"I just have a few last questions for you. You asked my partner if we'd spoken to Rachel's boyfriend, but no-one else seems to know anything about this relationship."

* * *

><p>As she rode the lift back up to the fourth floor, she quickly pulled out her phone and dialled Castle, knowing he'd want to hear how the case was going and how close they were to solving it. <em>Pick up, pick up<em>, she chanted while she listened to the repeated ringing sound only to receive his voicemail. Paying no attention to his message about being busy sword fighting with Blackbeard, she tried to recall what his schedule for the next few days was but she couldn't whether remember whether he was meant to be signing books or was travelling either to his hotel or to another city. She'd have to check with the timetable he'd printed off and stuck to the front of the fridge with a magnet. Pocketing her phone, she stepped off the elevator and walked straight into Esposito, Ryan and Captain Gates.

"Well?"

"She had a boyfriend," Kate said.

"Who was…" Ryan and Esposito simultaneously prompted.

"None other than our newest Congressman-"

"-Alan Woods?! I knew there was something dodgy about him. I'm glad I voted for Nichols now, even if he lost the election!"

"Let's not be hasty, Esposito," Gates cautioned. "We can't just arrest Congressman Woods. If we're going to pull him in for questioning, I want to make damn sure we have more evidence of his involvement with Rachel Winters than just the word of a convicted loan shark."

"Sir," the three detectives responded, looking disappointedly at one another behind their Captain's retreating back. Once she was sealed off in her office doing whatever it was she spent the majority of her time doing, Beckett took the lead. "Alright, let's get to work. I'm going to get onto Henry from her office and have her diary sent over. You guys-"

"-I'll check phone records," Ryan volunteered, "See if any of the numbers can be traced to Woods."

"And I'll see if I can place Rachel at any of Woods' recent events, link them that way."

Beckett nodded. There often came a moment in their cases where they could feel that they were closing in on their guilty suspect. It was palpable at that moment. Bolstered by their recent success, the three detectives got to work, Beckett pulling her phone from its cradle and dialling the office line for _Six Degrees of Celebration _once more. Hopefully it would be the last time she had to do so.

* * *

><p>Back at the apartment after a long day, Kate wanted nothing more than to sink into a candlelit, bubble bath in the enormous tub in their en suite. Unfortunately, she'd told Alexis she'd help her get the last of her things that had moved back into the loft while she stayed over her summer break and while she was with Pi to her room at the NYU campus.<p>

"Alexis?"

Her stepdaughter's ginger-haired head poked around the corner at the top of the stairs. "Hi, I'm just bringing the last box down."

Kate nodded, removing her badge, gun and holster and setting them on the kitchen counter while she waited. It took them a few trips to take the last cardboard boxes containing Alexis' clothes and books down to her car, but they were soon on their way.

"How's the case going?"

"Good," Kate replied, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to smile at Alexis. "I think we're close to catching the guy. We're just making sure we're going to have enough evidence to make an arrest."

"That's great! You guys have been working really hard on this one. I'm sure you'll get the evidence you need."

Sharing a brief smile, Kate turned the attention back to her stepdaughter. "So, what are you planning to get up to with your roommate this year? More all-night _Lord of the Rings_ marathons? A convention or two?"

"We haven't really talked about anything yet, but yeah we'll probably be doing something of that ilk. Or maybe we'll do _The Hobbit _instead this time around. It's still got Orlando Bloom in it, plus you know, Tauriel's kinda badass."

Beckett chuckled. Sometimes Alexis was exactly like her father. Although he'd harped on for days on end about how far Peter Jackson had moved away from the plot JRR Tolkien had actually written, he couldn't deny that he had fallen ever so slightly in love with Evangeline Lily's Tauriel.

"_Everyone loves a badass, Kate," he'd said. "Why do you think I fell in love with you?"_

"_I kind of thought it was because I was a 'mystery you were never going to solve.'" _

_He faked a shocked gasp. "You're using my words against me!"_

After dropping Alexis' last boxes in her room, Kate watched her start opening up each of the boxes, checking their contents before shifting them around to make unloading them easier.

"Well, thanks for all the help, Kate-"

"-Anytime."

"I guess I should start unpacking."

Kate dithered for a moment, soaking in the awkward atmosphere. Had Rick been there, he would have wrapped Alexis in a great, warm hug, practically squeezed the life out of her before kissing the top of her head and saying goodbye. She felt Alexis needed some kind of physical comfort, but although they were certainly closer than they had been when she first began dating her father, they'd never really had the kind of relationship that included hugs.

"You wanna grab dinner somewhere?" she said eventually, rocking on the balls of her feet almost nervously.

* * *

><p>"This place is great," Alexis enthused, twirling her fork through her plateful of seafood tagliatelle.<p>

"I used to come here with my mum," Kate confided. "It was kind of a tradition. Every time I went back to college, we'd come out on my last night." She hadn't planned on continuing her family tradition with Alexis, but somehow it just felt right. When her stepdaughter had agreed to go out to dinner with her, it was the first place she'd thought of, knowing that it was the perfect place for them to go.

"Thanks for sharing this place with me then," Alexis said with a hesitant smile.

After finishing their main courses, the waiter brought over the dessert menus and recommended the black cherry, chocolate tart. Even though their server continued to list the other sweet delicacies on offer, Kate had seen the way Alexis' eyes had lit up at the recommendation and ordered two.

"This is amazing," Alexis exclaimed, moaning around her spoon. "_So _much better than a smorlette."

"Anything's better than a smorlette!"

Laughing, the two finished up their desserts and while Alexis made a trip to the ladies' room, Kate settled the bill, leaving what little extra cash she had as a tip.

* * *

><p>After finally saying goodbye to Alexis and driving back to the loft, Kate closed her eyes in relief as she removed her heels and stretched out the cramp in her feet. Full of good food and tired after work, the bathtub was calling to her but she expected Rick would be calling soon. Making sure she had her cellphone, Kate grabbed the house phone from the dock and carried it through to the bathroom. While the bath ran, she pulled off her clothes, leaving them in the laundry basket, and wrapped herself in Rick's robe while she waited for the tub to fill. Along with the bubbles, she poured in some lavender oil and lit one of the relaxation candles that she'd brought back from the spa retreat the girls had taken her to for her bachelorette party.<p>

When her cellphone rang, she was up to her neck in bubbles, so relaxed she was actually drifting off. Rubbing her eyes, she held the phone up to her ear and answered. "Hey, Babe."

"Hey, sorry I missed your call earlier. What's up? Something happen with the case?"

"Yeah something happened."

"You caught the guy, didn't you?" Rick asked, excitement spilling out of him. "It was this Alanson, right?"

"Actually no, it wasn't Alanson. And we haven't caught him yet, but we're close, really close."

"Kate, that's great! I knew you could solve Rachel's murder!"

She smiled softly at her husband's faith, shifting slightly to work some feeling back into her leg. The pause on the other end of the phone was tangible.

"Are you- You're not in the bath, are you, Kate?"

"I might be," she admitted, smirking as she lifted a leg purposefully out of the water so he would hear the water dripping off of her skin.

"Two more weeks, two more weeks."

Chuckling at his chanting, Kate tried to ignore how much the thought of reunion sex in two weeks' time when he was back for Thanksgiving appealed to her.

"Two weeks is nothing," he said, more to himself than to his wife. "We can cope with being apart for two weeks."

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! I'm probably going to have one or two more chapters with Rick out on his book tour but then he'll be back. Those of you who are missing him, hold on! I might also, write at least part of the next few chapters from Rick's perspective. If you'd like to see something of what Rick is getting up to again, just let me know. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for not replying to all of your lovely reviews guys! We've had no Wi-Fi this week, and the day pass I had to buy is about to run out so I've literally only got time to post this. I am eternally grateful though. **

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><p>Her coffee was cold on her desk; the pastry from the box one of the detectives on Karpowski's team had brought in was untouched. Despite the ache beginning to form behind her eyes, Beckett resolutely kept her gaze trained on her computer screen, scrolling every so often to bring up the previous month of appointments in Rachel Winter's electronic diary. She'd already worked her way through the last six months, finding it hard to swallow as she saw her own name as well as Rick's and the location of their first meeting with Rachel. It seemed like so long ago, even though it had only been just under six months. Remembering that meeting, how she had argued and completely overruled their wedding planner only fuelled her desire to solve the case. But so far as she could tell, there were no meetings with Congressman Alan Woods recorded in the scheduling app.<p>

The boys were working just as hard as her. While Ryan trawled his way through months of phone records, entering each number into their system to try and trace one of the calls back to Woods; Esposito was searching past news articles for details of the Congressman's events and then cross-referencing them with her to see if Rachel had attended. By the time lunch rolled around and Castle's call came in, they'd made no more headway than when they'd finished for the day the previous evening.

"Hey, Babe-"

Across the bullpen, Esposito called, "Is that Castle? Tell him he owes me a week with the Ferrari."

On the phone, Rick complained, "How was I supposed to know the _Giants _would lose?" He sighed, breath rattling out of the speaker on Kate's phone. "So how's the case going?"

"Not well," Kate admitted, gathering her things since it was an acceptable time for her to take her lunch break. Getting out of the precinct for a bit would be good for her, and for the migraine she could feel developing. "So far we haven't been able to find any evidence to support Jamie Alanson's claim that Rachel was seeing Alan Woods-"

"Wait, that's who the guy is? _Congressman _Alan Woods? As in hotshot politician, won the election by a landslide despite being only twenty seven because he seemed perfect?"

"Apparently. Obviously since Woods has got a wife, this supposed relationship with Rachel was kept on the downlow. I've been looking through Rachel's appointments all morning and I still haven't found any mention of him."

"How far back have you gone?"

"I've just finished looking through 2013-"

"-Try looking at 2012," Rick instructed.

"Castle, I just got in the lift so I can go on my lunch break-"

"Just trust me?" he asked, equal request and plea.

Sighing, Kate thumbed the button to take her back up to Homicide. "Okay, I'm on my way back up." As she stepped off the elevator, she ignored the questioning looks from her colleagues who'd seen her leave the bullpen just minutes earlier and instead sank back down into her chair. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Try June 2012." He waited patiently while she scrolled to the appropriate month and began reading out ever entry Rachel – or Henry – had made in the diary.

"Meeting with Harris Whitfield, Appointment at the doctors, Meeting with Anne Michaels-"

"-There, that one. Anne Michaels," Rick exclaimed, cutting her off. "Anne Michaels is now better known as-"

"Anne Woods, the Congressman's wife," Beckett said, speaking the words at the same time as her husband. Even when they were in different states, they could still read each other's minds. "Rick, you're a genius."

Even though she couldn't see the gesture, he shrugged. "Paula told me when she hired Rachel that she'd planned high profile events, even a Congressman's wedding. I remember reading Woods' engagement announcement in the paper because it was the morning after…Alexis' graduation and well, I've stockpiled a lot of details about that morning in my memory. I just wondered if he was the Congressman."

"Babe," Kate replied almost elatedly as soon as he had finished speaking. "I'm going to have to hang up on you. I need to put a call through to the planning company, get all their records on Alan Woods. They might have helped plan some of his campaign parties or have more records of how often Rachel met with Alan and Anne-"

"-Say no more. Call me back this evening and tell me how it's going?"

"You got it," She promised.

Although they hadn't heard the whole conversation, the boys could tell from Kate's body language that she'd got something. The small smile gracing her lips was sign enough, but she was positively buzzing as she took her desk phone from the cradle and dialled the number she had got to know off by heart through the duration of investigating Rachel's case.

* * *

><p>Still smiling at the excitement in Kate's voice as she had ended their call, Rick pushed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and stretched his arms out along the bench he was enjoying the view of Meridian Hill Park, expecting Paula to call any minute and remind him it was only an hour until his second signing of the day. He'd only been in Washington DC since the previous evening, but he couldn't stop thinking of how ironic it was that he was there. Under different circumstances he could have ended up living in the city.<p>

He was so engrossed in the view, however, that he almost missed the soccer ball flying in the direction of his head.

"Ball!" It was a delayed shout from a young boy sprinting towards him, but Rick still dug his feet into the ground and stood before walking around the back of the bench to rescue the boy's ball before it could bounce and roll into the water staircase.

"Here you go," he said, handing the ball over just as an older girl jogged over and stopped in front of him beside the child who was obviously her younger brother.

"What do you say to the nice man, Nate?"

"Thank you," Nate replied quickly, the two words blurted before he dashed away kicking the round ball in front of him with every step.

Rick's mouth had already opened, the words, "Glad I could help," dying on his lips as he watched Nate's retreating figure.

"Sorry, he's shy," his sister explained before smiling uncertainly and heading after her brother. Her polite tone, the way she acted so responsibly, well it reminded him a lot of Alexis and he found that even though there were other people wandering about the park – couples strolling around holding hands, parents helping young kids to feed the birds bread – his attention was repeatedly drawn back to Nate and his sister as he wondered what it would have been like if he'd been able to give Alexis a sibling or two. When his phone rang and he answered Paula's call, hopping up off the bench once more to cross the park, he waved at the two kids still playing soccer even though it was getting almost too cold and none of the other families had bothered to bring a ball or a game.

* * *

><p>Evidence in hand, Beckett accompanied Ryan and Esposito to Gates' office, knocking clearly three times and waiting for the command to enter before opening the door and leading the way, on point as always.<p>

"Detectives?"

"We have the evidence, Sir."

"Go on," Gates requested, removing her glasses and holding them in one hand as she surveyed Beckett.

"Rachel Winters planned the Woods' wedding – that was how they initially met, but there were plenty of subsequent meetings both before and after the wedding-"

"-_After _the wedding?" Gates interrupted, seeking clarification.

"Yes, Sir," Esposito replied, picking up the story. "The planning business that our vic worked for, _Six Degrees of Celebration, _was involved in the organising of a number of events during Woods' congressional campaign, each of which Rachel Winters was on the list of attendees, even though it was another of her colleagues who arranged parties."

"And that's all you've got?"

"Not quite. I was looking into Rachel's phone records. After checking each phone number, I was only left with four unregistered cell phones, but by focusing on the dates Beckett was able to provide me with from Rachel's schedule, I found she was only making and receiving calls from one of the unregistered numbers, and each one took place before or after one of the meetings. The same phone number continues to appear in the printout after the Woods' wedding but not before."

"And what about a connection with the Cleavers?"

"They were also on the guest list for a number of Woods' events and were contributors to his campaign funds," Kate answered.

"_And _Woods has a permit for a Smith & Wesson 625, the-"

"-Type of gun our guy used in the Cleaver murders," Gates interrupted, nodding as she finished Esposito's sentence. "Unfortunately, detectives, so far this is all circumstantial-"

"-But enough for a search warrant, right, Sir?" Ryan asked hopefully.

The three of them waited with bated breath as Gates gave them a dubious look before picking up the phone on her desk and dialling. It wasn't that she doubted the evidence her three detectives had collected; Gates just knew that unless there was watertight evidence that a United States Congressman could have been involved in a murder, judges would be loath to grant a warrant of any kind.

* * *

><p>Standing front and centre, Esposito knocked, their warrant from Judge Markway folded securely in his other fist. Behind him, Beckett and Ryan were already pulling latex gloves on while the few uniforms they had brought to help search the large property disembarked from their van. His badge hung proudly around his neck, in full view when Congressman Woods opened his front door and paused, his hand still on the open door and his arm barring entry.<p>

"Detective Esposito, NYPD." Nodding his head to the left, Espo introduced Beckett and then Ryan. "We have a warrant to search your property, offices and car, Sir," Javi said, unfurling the warrant in case Woods doubted them.

"Hang on, what's this all about?"

"Sir, if you let us in, we can explain somewhere more private," Beckett tried, knowing that on a street like the Nassau County one Congressman lived on, the neighbours could be peering through their curtains and coming out of their houses any second.

It looked for a moment like Woods was going to argue, but the voice of his wife calling, "Alan, who is it?" seemed to remind him that none of them were interested in causing a scene. It looked bad enough for the congressman having the police search his home – he didn't need the bad press that would come if one of his neighbours called a journalist and the story of him arguing out on the street with the NYPD got out. As Alan Woods stepped aside, she followed Javi into his home.

While Beckett and Ryan seated Congressman Woods and his wife on a couch, Esposito began coordinating with uniforms. They had reports of what they were looking for – a knife with bloodstain residue and a Smith & Wesson 625 gun – one that their suspect had a licence for. It seemed that Alan Woods was a bit of a collector. In one of his glass-fronted cabinets, he had a whole series of handguns and rifles, many of which Espo knew were used in the US Military. It was almost laughable that the gun they were looking for was still in the case alongside the others. Most criminals would dispose of their murder weapon. Signalling to the closest uniform, Esposito indicated the weapon and left the team to bag the evidence, instead rifling carefully through the drawers of the dining room sideboard for 45 calibre bullets. Once he had them, recovered from a storage unit in the bedroom, he returned to the living room where his colleagues were still sat with Alan and Anne Woods.

"Beckett," he said, holding up the two evidence bags that contained the gun and bullets.

Mouth set in a grim line, Kate stood and pulled a set of handcuffs from under the hem of her shirt. "Mr Woods, if you could please stand up."

"What's going on?" Anne asked in horror as her husband reluctantly did as Kate requested.

"Alan Woods, you are under arrest for the murders of Rachel Winters, James Cleaver and Monica Cleaver." She tightened the handcuffs around the Congressman's wrists, let him hear the click as they locked before she continued and read him his Miranda rights. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

* * *

><p>Sitting across from Alan Woods, Kate locked her fingers together and stared him down. "Tell us about Rachel, Alan."<p>

After sharing a glance with his attorney, Alan said earnestly, "I don't know what you expect me to say. She was my wedding planner. I barely knew her."

"Don't play games with me, Alan. We know you were having an affair."

She watched, seeing how the young politician's jaw ticked and he looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes again, any pretence of ignorance that he had held when she and Esposito had first entered the room was now gone. "Fine. We were seeing each other."

"How did that start?" It wasn't exactly a necessary question but the only way she could see they were going to get any kind of confession was by getting the whole story from Woods. And she couldn't help being curious.

Alan shifted uncomfortably in his chair before he answered. "I tried, but we just clicked. At first it was all business, but the more we saw each other, the harder it got. We went to the same high school, you know. I saw her at the reunion, it was the first time we'd seen each other since the wedding."

"So why'd you kill her?"

Before Woods could speak, his attorney laid a hand on his arm. "Don't answer that. Detective Beckett and her colleagues don't have any actual evidence that you committed this murder."

"How did you wife feel about this fling you had with Rachel? Because that's what it was, right? A fling? Or did Rachel want something more?" She leaned forwards, trying to pile the pressure on Woods, and when he refused to answer her questions she changed tact. "What about Monica and James Cleaver? They contributed to your election campaign, very generously," she added, looking down at her paperwork to check the sum before saying, "A quarter of a million dollars in fact." The next question she planned to ask was interrupted by Ryan's knock on the interrogation room door.

"Beckett?" he asked, just poking his head in through the tiny gap he'd opened the door.

* * *

><p>She continued to watch Woods in the observation room as Esposito stared at him, never blinking.<p>

"We got ballistics back on the gun. It didn't fire the slugs Lanie pulled from James and Monica Cleaver's bodies. The gun's never been fired."

"What?" Beckett demanded. "That doesn't make any sense. It's the exact make and model used in the murders!" As if he knew they were there, as if he knew what Beckett had just been told, Woods turned his eyes from the table and stared at the two-way mirror. "How did you do it?" she murmured, knowing without a doubt that they had their killer; just not the evidence to convict him. "Did you check the serial of the gun?"

Ryan nodded. "Same serial number that's on Woods' licence."

"Have the lab check for evidence that it could have been faked. And get the house checked with a fine-toothed comb. The evidence we need is there somewhere."

Leaving the room after Kevin, Beckett took a moment to collect herself before twisting the handle on the interrogation room door and entering. Although he didn't have a clue what was going on, Esposito did not look inquisitively at her while she sat down but maintained his trained scrutiny of Alan Woods, hoping the way he sat with his arms crossed displaying his arm muscles was kept the air of threat in the room.

"We took a gun from your house, Alan. It's at the Crime Lab right now. You're a smart guy, you must know how ballistics work. What do you think they'll find?" she asked, bluffing and pretending that she didn't already know the results of the testing that had taken place on the gun.

"Nothing," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders, "None of my guns have ever been fired. I collect military pieces – things my father used while he was serving."

"What did you do with the Smith & Wesson you used to murder James and Monica Cleaver then?"

"Look, Detective, I know that you don't have anything on me other than the fact that I was in a relationship with one of your victims and two others contributed funds to my campaign, which in itself is no big deal – lots of people made donations. I know my rights. If you don't have sufficient evidence to charge me, you have to let me go."

"I don't have to do anything," Beckett practically spat. "I may not have anything concrete on you yet, Woods, but you can bet your last paycheck I will soon. In the meantime, let's make you comfortable in lockup." As soon as Alan Woods stood up, she slapped handcuffs back onto his wrists and marched him out of interrogation and down to the cells, his attorney protesting every step of the way. All the way back up the to the bullpen, Woods' lawyer complained and unfortunately for her, Gates overheard as she strode past her open office door.

"Beckett! In my office now!"

Exhaling loudly, frustration coursing through her system, Kate shut Gates' office door harder than she probably should have, but from the Captain's tone it was obvious she was about to be shouted at.

"Did I just hear correctly? You don't have sufficient evidence to charge Alan Woods so you're holding him in lockup?"

"I could have got a confession from him but he lawyered up, of course," Kate pointed out, absolutely certain that Alan Woods was guilty.

"He's a member of Congress! The media are going to be all over this."

"So we should treat him differently? Just because he's a politician doesn't mean he's above the law."

Gates surveyed her for a minute, giving her an odd look that Kate couldn't interpret before she asked, "Are you sure you're not compromised by this case, Beckett?" She knew in the back of her mind that she was probably pushing this case harder than she usually would, that if the suspect was just the usual Joe, she would be able to see the benefits of granting him release and then following him and compiling evidence that way. But this case was too close to home in more ways than one. She _knew _Rachel, and if this case turned into her mother's – one where she couldn't bring the killer to justice because of his position – she would lose all her faith in the job and in the political system.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much for reading. Those of you wondering what's going on with Madeline, rest assured she will be back soon. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you thought!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for not posting this yesterday. I was almost done with it, but started to feel really ill. Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews. I'm glad you're all still enjoying the story. **

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><p>"How the hell did he do this?" Kate muttered to herself. "Ryan, where are we with that serial number?"<p>

"Still waiting on the lab for results, I'm afraid."

Beckett sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. They had barely any time at all before Gates' patience with her and the lack of evidence would run out and the order to release Alan Woods from lockup would come.

"Okay, we know why Woods would want to get rid of Rachel – if the affair ever got out, it would have been the end of his marriage and his career would have been significantly damaged, but what's his motive for killing the Cleavers? It was obviously premeditated – he had the presence of mind to take the gun with him, which he didn't when he went to Rachel's apartment."

"Maybe he didn't mean to kill Rachel," Esposito suggested, "and just grabbed the knife from her apartment."

Nodding, Beckett considered the idea. "Let's get down to the apartment. There was nothing in the CSU report about any missing knives. Lanie's model she made from the wound doesn't match a kitchen knife – she said it was similar to a craft knife, didn't she?" As she spoke she slung her printed scarf around her neck and pulled her brown leather coat from the back of her chair and pushed her arms into it, flicking her hair out from under the collar when it got caught. "Ryan, can you stay here and do some digging into the Congressman's financials and movements. If that's not the gun used in the murders of Monica and James Cleaver, maybe he bought a replacement."

"You got it," Ryan replied, already dialling the necessary numbers to get hold of their suspect's bank records and recent credit card charges.

* * *

><p>Back at Rachel's father's apartment, cleaned of gruesome blood spatters and her wedding planner's body, Kate was able to really appreciate the place. If it weren't for the shadow of death that now hung over the place, she was sure that it would be no difficulty to sell. Whether it was Rachel or her father who had decorated the place, it was expertly done with simple pieces and traditional furniture, quaint detail mixed in with the illustrious grandeur of the light fittings.<p>

"Just spoke to the building's owner. Nobody's been here since CSU left so everything should still be here," Esposito announced as he entered the front door a few minutes after her.

"Great," she murmured, drifting about the apartment in search of some kind of lasting memory of Rachel.

"I'll start with the other room."

She nodded, almost too lost in thought for Javi's words to register. Every picture displayed on top of the sideboard or on the windowsills, she paused to pick up, recognising Rachel in some of them by her impossibly light blonde hair despite how much her face had changed as she grew up.

"Beckett?"

Following the sound of Esposito's voice, Kate moved about the apartment and came to a stop in the master bedroom where her partner stood beside a pile of cardboard boxes that, although packed and full, had been cut open.

"Think maybe this is what the knife is? An old packing knife?"

"Could be," she agreed. "Lanie did say the handle was made of wood – it left microscopic pieces in the wound. Search all the drawers." Heading back out, Kate left the bedroom for Esposito to check and focused on all of the kitchen drawers herself. Unfortunately after covering the whole apartment, neither she nor Espo had recovered what they believed was their murder weapon – not that they expected a guy like Alan Woods to be stupid enough to leave evidence behind, even if he did wipe it clean.

Before the left though, Beckett stopped in front of the door. "Just run this through with me a second, okay?"

"What?"

"Run the crime through with me, you know like me and Castle do sometimes. I'm Rachel; you're Alan-"

"-Why do I have to be Alan?"

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll be Alan-"

"-But I don't want to be the girl-" he broke off at Beckett's flat stare. "Fine. I'll be Rachel."

"Okay, so you're here at your father's apartment, you're packing up stuff to prepare it for sale and I come over."

"Why?"

"Good question," Beckett said. "Why… Well we know Rachel was serious about reconnecting with her daughter, that she'd realised the importance of family, so maybe she wanted things with Alan to be serious."

"Or maybe," Esposito proposed, getting the hang of the way she and Castle would bounce off each other to build a picture of events, "she wanted to break things off with him."

"So, he turns up and he's unexpected. It's a short meeting, they don't drink or eat together – there are no glasses or dirty dishes out."

"So they argue and it gets violent. He grabs her and shoves her back onto the couch, knocking it down and giving her the fingers shaped bruises on her upper arms and the ones on the backs of her legs."

"He tries to kick her while she's down, so she raises her arms to try and block them but he catches her head," Beckett continues, walking around the room. "She's dazed and on the ground. He needs to end it and get out, so he spins around and grabs the knife…"

"From the top of the piano!" Espo exclaims. "It's the only surface close enough. If he'd walked into the kitchen to get it, Rachel would have had time to get back up, time to defend herself." She nods as he explains. The flat surface of the grand piano really is the only place that makes sense.

"Let's get CSU onto that piano, dust it for prints and fibres. While we wait, let's show around Woods' picture; see if anyone saw him here that night or if he'd been here before."

* * *

><p>"Anything?" Esposito asked as he and Beckett met outside the apartment technically still owned by Terry Winters again.<p>

"Door man recognised him," she answered with a jubilant grin. "He started coming round February this year every few weeks, usually late at night and dressed in, wait for it, running clothes."

"Our guy in the black hoody," Esposito said, instantly making the connection that she already had.

"Shame so many months have gone by. We know that Woods didn't hold on to the gun from the Cleavers' murders, so he probably would have chucked the packing knife too and I doubt we'll ever find that now. I'm still going to pin him for this though."

"CSU are almost finished with the piano by the way."

She nodded and the both of them re-entered the apartment, waiting silently while the Crime Scene Unit continued snapping high-resolution photographs of the top of the piano until the lead investigator turned to speak with them.

"We have recovered a few latent partial prints, my guys are just collecting them and then they'll be analysed in the lab. We'll let you know if anything is flagged in the system-"

"-I've got a suspect in lockup and we're running low on time we can carry on holding him for. His prints are in the system since they were taken when we arrested him, can you organise one of your guys to run a comparison between his prints and the partials you found here?"

"I'll do it myself, Detective," the investigator promised before returning to supervise the few suited men who were swabbing the surface of the piano for further trace evidence after the partial fingerprints had been lifted with clear tape.

"Okay, let's head back to the precinct and see where Ryan is with Woods and his 625."

* * *

><p>"Is he in the breakroom?" Kate asked as they stepped off the elevator and noticed almost immediately that Ryan was not sat behind his desk where they had left him. Crossing to the open door of the breakroom, Esposito checked before shaking his head at Beckett.<p>

"I'll check with Tory, see if he's with her," Espo volunteered, leaving her in the bullpen to wait for either one of the boys to return.

Shucking her coat, Kate folded it over the back of her chair before sinking down into it and pulling her phone out.

"_You free?" _she texted Castle, almost forgetting to put three kisses at the end before she sends it. It took a few moments for her husband's reply to come through saying he was signing books but he could ask Paula for a break if she wanted to talk. _"No, don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later, Babe. Miss you. xxx"_ Her phone was still in her hands when Esposito returned and shrugged his shoulders at her to show he was just as clueless as she as to Ryan's whereabouts. It vibrated as she received another text.

"Ryan?" Esposito asked.

Beckett shook her head. "Castle. I'm gonna get a coffee, you want one?"

"Sure," Javi answered, seating himself at his own desk while Kate rose and entered the breakroom to read the text message in privacy while she brewed two coffees – a black roast for Esposito, and a vanilla latte for herself since there was still vanilla flavoured creamer in the fridge.

"_If you're sure…" _was Rick's reply that caused a soft smile to grace her features. His concern was truly touching.

"_I'm sure. Got to get back to work anyway."_

Depositing Esposito's mug of coffee on his desk, careful to avoid the stacks of paper that he often let overtake the space, Kate looked up expectantly as a ding signalled the elevator stopping on their floor.

"Oh, hey guys," Ryan mumbled as he approached them at his desk. "Find anything at the apartment?"

"Partial prints, no murder weapon though the doorman did ID Woods as the guy in the black hoody he escorted out of the building right around Rachel's time of death window," Beckett reported. "How are things going on this end? Where were you?"

"Checking in with the pawnbrokers in Harlem. I traced Woods to an ATM in the area the day after the Cleaver murders."

"And?" Kate asked eagerly.

Ryan held up an evidence bag containing a silver, black-handled revolver. "A Mr Garetty who runs a pawnshop on 106th Street bought this Smith & Wesson 625 from a man who 'refused to give his name and looked remarkably familiar'. He was able to positively ID Woods."

"What about the second gun?"

"Bought it from another pawnbroker a few streets over. I just got the results back from the crime lab too. He had the serial number on the replacement faked."

"We got the son of a bitch," Beckett said with grim satisfaction.

* * *

><p>"Detective Beckett, you must be here to release me," Woods cockily remarked as she came into view of his cell in holding.<p>

"Actually, _Congressman_, I'm here to take you back up to interrogation. You know, people aren't going to be calling you that for much longer. See we found new evidence and have some questions I don't think even you will be able to talk your way out of." While Woods swallowed and tried to control his expression and exude an air of relaxed confidence, she unlocked his cell and led him out, walking one step behind him all the way up to the interrogation room. As they moved, officers stopped to watch the disgraced politician and the station lieutenant stepped alongside, taking charge of Woods and cuffing him to the table once they reached the room Kate would be operating in that afternoon. She stood outside for a few moments, hoping to make Woods sweat and worry over what kind of evidence she might have found and compiled. After sharing a look and nods with Ryan and Esposito, she entered alone with just the folder of evidence paperwork and sat down opposite Woods and his lawyer, who had been shown in while she was still stood beside the door. Remaining silent, she opened the folder and slid the only blank piece of paper inside it across the table to Woods before taking a pen and placing it on top.

"What's this?" he scoffed.

"It's for you to write your confession to three counts of murder on, Alan."

"Funny, you don't look like a priest to me. I don't think I need to confess to anything, especially something I didn't do."

"You did a good job trying to cover it up, Alan, but unfortunately for you we did a better job finding the evidence. Did you know you left fingerprints on the piano at Rachel's father's apartment?"

"They could be from weeks ago. I used to meet Rachel there some evenings while she was stuck packing up her dad's stuff and trying to sell the place."

"That's true, but unfortunately for you, our initial search of the apartment uncovered a receipt for a professional deep clean from a week before Rachel's murder," Kate replied, checking the relevant evidence sheet to be sure she had the dates right. "So, they're obviously a lot more recent than you want us to believe."

"It still doesn't prove I killed her."

"You're right, it doesn't. We'd need the murder weapon – an old packing knife – to prove that. So what did you do with it, Alan?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. If this is all the evidence that you have, I think my lawyer here would agree that you don't have anything on me at all."

Beckett sat back, surveying her murderer before raising her hand and signalling, since she knew both of the boys would be watching in the observation room behind the mirror. A few seconds later, Ryan opened the door and handed her the evidence bag which contained the gun which had been used to shoot Monica and James Cleaver. At the sight of it Alan Woods visibly swallowed, clearly biting the inside of his cheek.

"Recognise it?"

Woods said nothing.

"See we just got the test results and ballistics back on _this _625. I'm sure you're not surprised to know that the serial number on this gun matches the one on your gun holder's licence or that there are large amounts of gun powder in it, showing it was recently fired, or even that the bullets pulled from Monica and James Cleaver's bodies were definitely fired by this gun. So, are you ready to confess now, Alan?" Uncrossing her legs, Kate leaned across the table and nudged the blank sheet of paper closer, making sure the action caught Woods' eye.

"Don't say anything," his lawyer advised.

"I know you did it, Alan, but what I don't know is _why_. What had the Cleavers done? Why did they have to die?"

"They knew about Rachel-"

"-I would like a moment alone with my client," the lawyer said loudly, but Woods just continued to speak.

"She'd told them about us when they saw us together at one of my campaign parties and when she died they kept calling and asking how I was doing and whether I knew anything. They just wouldn't stop. And then they found out that Rachel had wanted to break things off. I _loved _her, I was going to split up with my wife for her and she just wanted to end it all. I tried to talk her round, it's why I was there but she just said that what we were doing was wrong and she wouldn't listen. I didn't understand how it was wrong. I didn't mean to- i-it just happened and then it was too late. I don't even remember grabbing the knife. All of a sudden it was just there, in my hand, and Rachel's blood was everywhere and she wasn't breathing."

* * *

><p>Kate breathed a deep sigh of relief as she pulled the interrogation room door closed behind her. It had never felt better to solve a case. There had been times when she had been convinced that they wouldn't be able to catch their guy.<p>

"Well done, Detective. Great work. I want you to take the week off," Gates said as she passed by.

"Thank you, Sir," she replied, feeling shaken despite how glad she was that they had finally been able to give Rachel the justice she deserved. She would be required to present evidence when the case came to court, she was certain, but for now the case was over. Except for one last thing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, what do you all think of the way the case turned out? Let me know!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm glad so many of you liked the resolution of this case. It took me so long to work out everything, so it's even more pleasing. Thank you those of you who reviewed. Extra thanks go to phnxgrl for pointing out to me that Congress would still need to expel Woods in order for him to face trial. I probably did know that somewhere in the depths of my memory because I did once study American politics, but I'd certainly forgotten. I do plan for this story to continue after the closure of the case, and it's highly likely that the case will still play a role in the background from this point onwards so that information was very helpful! (Being purposefully vague here to avoid spoilers for you guys…) **

* * *

><p>"Hey, Lanie, you remember sending those blood tests on Marcus DeWitt for analysis? You get the results back yet?" Kate said, not bothering with a proper greeting as she walked into her friend's lab.<p>

"I'll check," the ME replied, raising her gloved hands away from the cadaver she was investigating and pulling the dirty, blood-smeared gloves off before walking to the computer station to pull up her emails. As she scrolled the list of read and unopened emails, she glanced at Kate, noting how the frown lines that had seemed to be a permanent fixture on her forehead the few times she'd seen her recently were gone. "Case closed?"

"Yeah, just have to hope that with the shitstorm in the media and the charges being processed, Congress will see fit to throw out Woods."

"Three counts of murder-"

"-All of which he confessed to," Kate added.

"I don't think he's got a leg to stand on, girl. He's hardly going to keep his seat," Lanie said, raising an eyebrow at Beckett for her lack of faith. "His guilty mug'll be all over the newspapers tomorrow morning."

Allowing herself a small smile, Kate hid it behind one of her hands. "Anything?"

"Give me a second," Lanie requested. "Yep, here we go. Must have missed this one. There's been so much evidence going back and forwards recently," she murmured as she scanned the email before turning to Kate and summarising its contents, "Looks like Marcus is a match for his daughter."

Kate nodded, processing the information. "Thanks Lanie," she said, turning on her heels and striding back to the heavy metal door only for her best friend to suddenly speak up.

"None of this happened. We didn't run the blood for any tests, right?" she asked. When Kate had asked her whether it was possible for her to run some tests to see whether Marcus DeWitt might be an appropriate donor for his daughter, she'd guessed that if it surfaced that Madeline Cleaver's biological father was in fact suitable Kate would be unable to leave the matter alone. She didn't need to be her best friend to know that that was where Kate was heading right now.

* * *

><p>She knocked once, waiting patiently for Marcus to open the door to his apartment. After some insistent buzzing, one of the building's other tenants had let her in when the man she sought had ignored her. Stood outside his door, it was plainly obvious why. Music blared from inside, the floor actually vibrating beneath her feet with the volume of it. Luckily, the old building's thick door smothered enough of the sound that for Charles Avery across the hall; though she doubted she'd be able to say the same for the unfortunate people living either side of Marcus. Growing tired of hoping he heard her first knock, she began pounding on the front door, not stopping even as the music got paused and she heard his voice getting closer.<p>

"Alright, alright, alright. Jeez, can't a guy ever get some peace aroun- Detective Beckett? What is it I'm supposed to have done now?" he asked agitatedly.

"Nothing," Kate answered, trying to alleviate his fears with a small smile. "Can I come in?"

"Okay," Marcus replied hesitantly, opening wide the door before hurrying to explain his messy apartment. "Sorry about all this. I just started a new piece and well, I guess I can be a bit exuberant," he finished lamely, gesturing about at the dozen colourful paintbrushes left on all the surfaces, and the splatters of acrylic across his canvas. The spray of paint was just as impressive as it would be if he had thrown darts at paint balloons. "So…"

"I'm sure you must have heard about our arresting of Congressman Alan Woods." She paused and looked to Marcus, waiting for his nod before she continued. "We formally filed charges this morning."

"So he did it? He killed Rachel?"

"I'm afraid so, Marcus," Kate clarified. "He's facing charges for the murders of James and Monica Cleaver too. I thought you'd like to know that you were no longer under suspicion and that Rachel's killer had been brought to justice." If she had to choose a word to describe Marcus DeWitt in that moment, it would be numb. It was obvious that the poor guy didn't quite know what to do or say, so he just sat there and did his best to process what it was she was telling him. Before he could start drawing things to a close and thank her before showing her out, she moved on to the other reason she had gone to visit Rachel Winter's ex-boyfriend. "There was something else." Pulling her coat open, Kate pulled out a single, folded photo and passed it along to Marcus. "This is Maddie, your biological daughter." She watched as the photo stayed in her hand, the artist opposite her staring at it but refusing to take it. Sighing, she opened up the photo and turned it so he could see his daughter's face. "I know you said you want nothing to do with her but she's sick, Marcus, really sick."

After a moment, Marcus reached out and took the picture in shaking hands, asking hoarsely, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's got a rare condition. Gaucher's Disease. She needs a liver transplant."

"I-is she gonna be okay?"

"That depends on you, Marcus," she explained gently. "You're a genetic match for Madeline. You would be a suitable donor."

* * *

><p>It had surprised her how well Marcus had responded to her interference. She'd expected him to tell her again that Maddie was nothing to do with him, that he wasn't interested in contact with her. It was partly why she had made sure to grab a copy of the photo from the case file, hoping that seeing Madeline would be able to help change his mind. She just hadn't really thought she would actually succeed, let alone that she'd be driving Marcus DeWitt to Presbyterian Hospital and taking him to the Paediatric Ward where Maddie had been staying since Wednesday.<p>

"Ready?" she asked, receiving a determined nod from Marcus before she twisted the handle and opened the door, stepping into the ward first and heading straight for the little blonde haired girl sitting up in bed near the end of the room.

"Detective Beckett!" she exclaims happily, soon receiving a reminder from her foster mother that she's supposed to be resting and that she should be careful with the cannula and IV in her arm.

"Hi, Maddie, how are you feeling?" Kate asked, smiling warmly and running a hand down the arm which didn't have an IV feeding into it.

She shrugged, a lacklustre movement that reminded them all just how ill she was. That in itself was a symptom of the way her body was malfunctioning. Anaemia was common in people with Gaucher's Disease, she'd learned. Apparently so were enlarged spleens and livers – Maddie's problem. "It hurts," Madeline grumbled, pointing at her stomach.

"Well, I brought you something to help you feel better," Kate replied, lifting up the carrier bag she'd pulled from her car boot before entering the hospital and placing it on the table wheeled along aside and swung over Maddie's bed. From the bag she grabbed the first of her small gifts – a soft, toy elephant – and jiggled it slightly before passing it to the small girl. "What are you going to call him?"

"Marvin," she answered decisively, already snuggling the plush elephant into her side.

Next Kate drew out a pad of plain paper and some bright colouring pens. "I remembered how great you were at drawing so I got you these. Maybe my friend Marcus here can help you decorate a bit, huh? He's an artist so he should be pretty good, right?" At her side, Marcus startled at being thrust into the limelight and raised an unsure hand, wiggling his fingers just enough for it to be considered a wave. After an encouraging nod, he quickly grabbed a spare chair and pulled it up beside Maddie's bed, opening the box of pens and tipping them out for his daughter to take first pick of the colours. Kate stood and watched for a few moments, letting the two acquaint themselves and get started with a drawing before she offered to make a coffee run. When she returned, the doctor was in the room, asking Maddie some questions about how she felt and checking the levels of fluid in the intravenous drip.

"What's the verdict then, doc?" Marcus asked as the paediatrician finished making his notes on Maddie's paperwork.

"Sorry, are you a relative?"

"I-"

Taking pity, Kate stepped forward and murmurs quietly enough to the doctor that Maddie can't overhear, "This is Marcus DeWitt, Madeline's biological father."

"And you are?"

"Detective Kate Beckett," she answered, using her official title to reassure the doctor.

"Well, we've got Maddie here on an enzyme replacement therapy program, that's what's in the drip; but I'm afraid at this point much of the damage to her liver is irreversible. The problem is that because Gaucher's Disease is so rare and the symptoms are similar to those of natural childhood illness – stomach bugs and the like – the symptoms can go untreated for a long time, particularly as the deficiency in white blood cells means infection is more common. Liver enlargement in particular is less noticeable since it doesn't swell as much as the spleen can in these situations. Maddie has been lucky not to suffer both symptoms. However, she is still in need of a liver transplant from a viable donor."

Marcus stared at Maddie for a moment, before brushing a lock of hair out of his daughter's face and squeezing her hand. "Take mine."

* * *

><p>Exhausted, Kate sank down into the couch, eyes closed as she curled and flexed her toes in the shaggy rug covering the floor. She'd barely made herself comfortable in the cushions when the bell rang and she found herself sighing, heaving her tired body up and across the floorboards.<p>

On her doorstep stood Lanie, clearly dressed for a night on the town with her red dress beneath her open coat and her bright lipstick. Black eyeliner was expertly applied to her eyes, and her hair was straightened to perfection, sleek and shiny on either side of her bronzed face. Without giving Kate time to even ask where she was going, Lanie bustled in past her and headed straight in the direction of Rick's office and their bedroom, pulling open one of the wardrobe doors and leaving Kate to shut the front door and follow.

Every so often Lanie pulled a dress or skirt down and gave it a critical eye, murmuring to herself things like, "Maybe," and, "I guess that's possible," and "No, definitely not!"

Leaning against the open door frame, Kate sighed. "You gonna tell me what it is I need to get dressed for."

"Celebration drinks," her best friend answered distractedly. "Javi and Kevin are going to meet us there."

Resisting the urge to groan at the thought of putting on her highest pair of heels Lanie had so generously put out for her, Kate calmly said, "Right. It's just I kind of had…plans for tonight."

"You're alone in the loft. And you have plans?" Lanie span and gave Kate the eye, both hands on her hips with her head jutted at an angle on her neck. It would have been effective if Kate weren't long used to Lanie's antics and desperate for a chance to relax for at least an hour or two. "Care to tell me what you have planned? It was my understanding that after closing a big case, you cops like to have a few drinks and celebrate." To say she was dubious of Kate's story would be a rather large understatement. "Are you sure it's not just that you can't handle a night drinking into the wee hours of the morning? I mean, you are married now."

Straightening and moving from the doorway, Kate stood at her full height – a few inches taller than her friend. "Oh, I can handle it," she assured Lanie, one hand reaching out and taking the black, lace dress from her hand. Busy changing, she didn't notice Lanie's mischievous smile of achievement as she left the room and went in search of some alcohol to help put Kate in the mood and get the party started. No doubt the boys would already be out and drinking at the bar she'd arranged to meet them in. It made sense that they make a headstart too.

By the time Kate emerged from the bedroom, with new makeup coating her face and a pair of black spiralling earrings hanging from her ears, Lanie had already progressed halfway through her glass of wine while Kate's sat stagnant on the kitchen counter. Her friend has truly made herself at home in the space she and Rick now shared. Not only was she sat on the couch with her feet resting on the coffee table, but she'd taken the liberty of putting some music on too.

A glass or two of wine later, they left, catching a cab to meet up with the boys, find them munching on chips and dip, occasionally swigging beers but primarily staring at the TV that's hung over the bar and displaying the latest action in the Colts vs Titans game. It was a Monday, but because of the game, the bar was full.

"Trust you, Javi, to bring us to a sports bar," Lanie said reproachfully, clearly not impressed that she'd dressed for a night of clubs and was now overdressed for a few beers while watching the game.

Despite Lanie's obvious disappointment, their small group were still having a great time together with some pub grub on the table in front of the them and finally a chance to have a good catch up. Kate didn't think the four of them had really had a chance to have a proper get together since the wedding – being at work just didn't count. Still, while her friends carried on joking around, she couldn't help wishing that Rick were there. It didn't feel right being without him. Especially when one of the young guys sat at the bar kept staring at her, clearly trying to attract her attentions.

"Yo, Beckett, looks like you got an admirer," Esposito said with a cheeky grin as he finally noticed her admirer.

Rolling her eyes, Kate took a tiny bit of pleasure in telling her partner to 'can it' and had a moment to herself, pulling out her phone to check whether Rick had called her yet. They had agreed to speak to each other that evening, when he wasn't busy signing books – and human anatomy – but neither of them had signed up to the responsibility of actually making the call. She was just in the middle of typing out a text, explaining why she hadn't called him yet when Esposito interrupted her concentration.

"Alright, next round's on you, Beckett."

Even though they weren't at work, between them Kevin and Javi had decided that they just couldn't call Beckett anything else. It was very unusual for either of them to call her Kate, just as it wasn't common for her to use either of their first names, and it was downright weird calling her Castle. They knew her new husband probably wouldn't be pleased – she'd taken his surname after all, but what he didn't know, couldn't hurt him.

Flashing a sarcastic smile, Kate grabbed her purse and stood, well aware as she headed over to the bar that the reason she had been sent – and not Lanie, who had also yet to buy a round – was because her group of friends wanted to watch what would happen with her fan and that that was why they were currently observing her.

"Hi, two beers, two glasses of whatever white wine you have, please," she asked the barman, who turned to her straight away since most of his customers were watching the game on the tv screen anyway.

While she waited, she felt her the man's admiring gaze once more and knew it wouldn't be long before he plucked up the courage to sidle down the bar and strike up conversation with her. As she had intuited, barely half a minute later, he slid in beside her, arm purposefully brushing against hers, and held up his empty pint glass and a folded dollar bill between two fingers, signalling a refill.

"You here for the game or for something else?" he asked as they waited side by side.

"Just having a drink with friends," she replied politely, nodding in the direction of the booth Lanie and the boys occupied and fighting a smile as she watched the poor guy pale at Esposito's warning glare and his threatening posture.

"Why don't you let me get this drink for you then?"

"I'm okay, thanks. They've already given me the cash for the round."

"If you're sure?"

"I'm sure," Kate said, wiggling her fingers to display her wedding ring as she reached for the two beer bottles and glasses of wine the barman had placed before.

The guy gave her a disappointed but understanding smile. "Well, it was nice meeting you anyway…"

"Kate," she offered, nodding.

"Paul," he replied, "Like I said, it was nice meeting you, Kate." She stood a moment after he walked away, not quite able to believe that he'd actually winked at her before re-joining his friends.

Returning to the table, Kate divvied out the drinks before taking her seat and telling Lanie, "Guy's got balls. Apparently even marriage won't deter him from flirting."

* * *

><p>"Well, I should probably be getting home. Jenny must be run off her feet now-"<p>

"Already?" Esposito asked, his voice taking on a whining-like quality. "You've only been here two hours."

"And I'll have already missed bathtime with Sarah Grace," Ryan replied, putting on his coat as he was not to be won over by Espo's moaning.

"I should probably leave too," Kate said, leaping at the opportunity. She knew it was a little bit pathetic but it wasn't the same when Castle wasn't there drinking with them and they weren't at the Old Haunt. Perhaps she'd have been more willing to stay if she wasn't fending off Paul's lecherous looks every time she moved. Plus, she was tired. For the second hour at the bar, she'd been trying to hide yawns from Lanie. "I was supposed to be calling Rick this evening."

It took a few minutes to convince Esposito that he'd have more fun without she and Ryan, that he and Lanie could stay out later and keep drinking, maybe go dancing, but once she'd been let out of the booth, she took a few quick steps out of the bar and didn't bother flagging a cab but instead dialled the number of the reputable car service Rick sometimes used. She had a comfortable ride back home within minutes.

* * *

><p>The only thing she did before calling Rick, was change out of her dress and heels, pulling on instead one of her husband's t-shirts and a pair of brushed cotton pyjama pants, covering her feet with some thick, fluffy socks to stave off the cold of the hardwood floors.<p>

"Hey!" Rick answered with palpable excitement when she rang.

"Someone sounds happy," she replied, feeling herself smiling along with him.

"I just found out that I can have a longer Thanksgiving/Christmas break. Paula's run into a scheduling conflict with another of her authors, so she's cancelled my appointments in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"That's great!"

"So, what's new with you? What did you need earlier?"

"Just some words of encouragement, babe. We ran into some difficulty with Alan Woods – he got rid of the gun he used to murder the Cleavers and replaced it. I wasn't sure we were going to get the evidence to charge him when we didn't have either of the murder weapons-"

"-But you did? Right?" Rick interrupted to ask.

"Well, I worked through the events of Rachel's murder with Espo-"

"With Espo?" he complained.

"-And afterwards CSU were able to find some fingerprints on the piano that placed Woods there the night of the murder, and the doorman ID'd him. After that, Ryan found the evidence we needed to prove that the gun that shot James and Monica Cleaver was his and I managed to get a confession out of him."

"Kate, that's great!" Rick crowed before growing sombre. "I knew you could solve Rachel's murder. We should celebrate when I get back."

"Yeah? How should we celebrate?"

Responding to her coy tones, Rick replied, "Well, with fine wine and dining, of course. I'm sure Maddie could fit us in easily at Q3." He paused a moment before adding, "The hot, passionate sex afterwards goes without saying."

Kate chuckled. "I'm surprised you're willing to forgo the sex long enough to dress up, go out and eat."

"Well, I guess the order of affairs could be reworked… God, I wish I was there to celebrate now."

Taking pity on him, Kate ended the flirting, instead turning the conversation back to his book tour to find out how his most recent signing had gone.

* * *

><p>After hanging up, Kate was left wondering what to do. Her phone conversation appeared to have woken her from her exhaustion, and she didn't feel like she could go to bed. If anything, what she wanted was to be with Rick so they could get to celebrating. An idea coming to her, she made a brief trip to the bedroom to get her oft-neglected laptop before returning to the couch and sitting down with it. It only took her a few moments to get onto the internet and a flights website. Tickets to LA were expensive, but luckily she shared Rick's sizable bank account now. He wouldn't be in Los Angeles for a few days, so she would only be able to spend the weekend with him, but the idea of going back to the city where she had very nearly caved in and admitted what she was feeling for him and not closing the door on him this time was very appealing. Surprising him, as he'd surprised her on the flight to California, well that was bound to be entertaining too. Should she go to a signing or wait sneak into his hotel room? Luckily for her, she had some time to figure that out.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry to say that this might be my last update for a week or two. Unfortunately I managed to bugger my laptop the other day – I think I did something to the memory modules but I'm not entirely sure – and it now won't boot up so I'm having it sent away for repairs. Luckily, I was able to get this chapter and a few other documents off the harddrive beforehand and use my mum's laptop for a day to finish this off and upload it. However, I'm going back to university and will be without a laptop for at least a week, so please don't expect an update on this story or any of my others if you read them until after May 2****nd ****at the earliest. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though! Let me know what you thought. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to work on this story relatively soon. Apologies if I don't manage to reply to any of your reviews from the last chapter - I'm on borrowed time with my mum's laptop (and I'm supposed to only be using it to finish my university assignment so nobody tell her I did this too...).**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks so much for you feedback! I really enjoyed reading your reviews. Once again I do apologise for not being able to update. I really appreciate you guys being so understanding. It took a lot longer than I expected for me to get my laptop back, so I'll just shut up now and let you get on with the story.**

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><p>Calm despite the excitement spreading through her as she imagined the look on Castle's face when he saw her, Kate was meticulous as she rifled through her sections of the closet to find her sexiest underwear and a few more enticing articles of clothing. She already had a few negligees in the small suitcase she was in the process of packing, but felt she could do with some other supplies – even if she was only going to be staying with her husband in LA for the weekend. Clothes appropriate for attending a signing, maybe going out to dinner or a publicity event were probably going to be necessary for a start. As much as she – and he – would enjoy her keeping him captive in the bedroom for seventy two hours, she knew Paula wouldn't be quite so keen on the idea.<p>

When she finally had her case in order, with a few pairs of shoes at the bottom, a pair of jeans and a casual shirt as well as a few possibilities for fancier occasions, and of course everything she would need to seduce Rick, Kate zipped the luggage shut and pulled up the handle. Grabbing her hand luggage off the bed, Kate slung the structured tote over her shoulder and strode out of the bedroom, only stopping to pick up her keys from the kitchen counter. Down in the lobby, she waited patiently for the town car their building's doorman, Eduardo, had ordered to arrive and seated herself in the backseat while the driver took her case to the trunk.

It was different using town cars without Rick, she decided. Somehow, when her husband was in the car, he made it seem like such an everyday thing. On her own though, sat in the back seat and watching hundreds of yellow cabs drive past, it just reminded her that things were different now she and Rick were married. The trips in the town car were just one of those changes. The occasional paparazzi shot appearing in the paper or a magazine was another. Since her return from the honeymoon, she'd noticed a few others though. People recognised her – more so than they ever had before when all she was known for was being Richard Castle's muse, the woman behind Nikki Heat. The lap of luxury that came with being his wife, that was something she thought she would never get used to. If there was a designer jacket hanging on a manikin in a store window that would have eaten into her bank balance too severely before, now it would barely make a dent. She could even buy her own business class ticket instead of relying on Castle to ignore the fact that she had bought an economy class one and bump her up.

Unlike most taxi drivers, the man taking her to the airport left her mostly to her thoughts, occasionally making the odd comment to ask whether she would like some music or if she was comfortable. For the most part, it was a relaxing journey. Hired drivers didn't feel compelled to drive at the same speeds or in the haphazard style she was used to. Still, by the time they arrived at the airport, she was eager to be out of the car where she could stretch her legs and breathe in fresh air, even if it was cold.

* * *

><p>After treating herself to one glass of wine, she slept on the flight, reclining her cushioned chair back as far as it would go until she was practically horizontal anyway. Had Castle been travelling with her, she probably would have stayed awake, attempting to read something while he continued to talk to her, boredom driving him to suggest that they join the mile high club – again. But she was travelling alone, and a quick glance over the bookshelves around the office had shown her that she didn't have anything relatively short that she hadn't yet read. If she became desperate for something to read, she surmised that she would have no trouble getting hold of something when Rick was scheduled to appear in book stores through Los Angeles all weekend.<p>

Touchdown and the judder of the wheels as they vibrated along the tarmac landing strip roused her. Luckily for her, she had never removed her seatbelt before falling asleep and while they coasted along, slowing down, she started to check through her handbag which had been on the floor between one of her legs and the side of the plane just to be sure that she wasn't going to leave something behind. Before she left the plane, the one thing she removed was a pair of Ray Bans, which she donned to protect her eyes from the bright sunlight. If they helped to stop any loitering paparazzi from recognising her, that was just an added benefit since she was hoping to catch Rick unawares. His own flight from Baltimore would be getting in soon, so she wanted to be out of the airport and at his hotel before him. It didn't leave her much time to get her luggage, so as soon as she had lifted the black case from the carousel, she hightailed it out to the arrivals lounge, not even stopping for a coffee before she snagged one of the cabs sat outside and told the driver to take her to the Ritz-Carlton.

Driving down Olympic Boulevard, the hotel loomed above them, a tower of glass easily visible. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering how _Black Pawn _could afford to put Rick up in such expensive luxury hotels, even if it was just for a few nights.

As soon as the cab pulled to a stop, one of the uniformed members of staff was opening her car door and taking her hand to help her out, another grabbing her suitcase and wheeling it around to one of the bellboys. Luckily she'd taken the time to call ahead and arrange her planned surprise. It helped that she now had a few contacts of her own at her husband's publishing house who could vouch for her and help her get into the hotel room they'd booked. It only took a quick stop at the reception to hand over her ID for inspection and pick up the room key card before she was on her way up, the luggage going it's separate way with the staff.

* * *

><p>She was ready when she heard the door open and the sound of her husband's voice profusely thanking the concierge for accompanying him to his room, before he paused and she knew he'd caught sight of the two massage tables in the middle of the suite.<p>

"Er, I think there's been a mistake here, Paolo-"

"No mistake, Sir," Paolo assured, standing with his both of his hands behind his back and trying not to show mirth at Richard Castle's evident confusion. "We booked the couple's massage and had the beds brought up for privacy, just as requested-"

"But I didn't order a couple's massage," Rick protested.

"No, but I did," Kate replied, appearing in the open, square arch that connected the bedroom to the rest of the suite.

"Kate!" Rick gasped, not completely unaffected by the show of skin the poorly closed kimono she wore displayed, though his obvious shock and joy stemmed primarily from her actual presence. Behind him, Paolo the concierge quietly stepped outside and closed the suite door behind him, giving the couple their privacy which was just as well since Rick crossed the room in three large strides and enveloped his wife up in his arms, crushing her to him for an ardent kiss.

"Hey babe," she murmured, grinning brightly as soon as he lessened the force of his lips over hers. "Surprised?"

"Most definitely," he replied, tightening his arms around her waist, fingers clutching at the satin on either side of her waist. "I didn't expect to see you for another week. Why didn't you tell me you were flying in?"

One of her eyebrows raised and she bowed her spine backwards, craning to meet his eyes.

"Oh, right," he muttered, smiling as he realised she'd planned the surprise; rather than made a spur of the moment decision to spend the weekend with him.

"So, best surprise ever?"

"Close second to my birthday," he told her, leaning forwards to kiss her again, having missed the feel her lips and the weight of her body in his arms. "You're going to have to up your game, I'm afraid, to top that, my dear detective."

Dropping an arm from around his neck, Kate reached between them to untangle the loose knot that was keeping her kimono closed and hiding the lingerie she'd chosen to wear for him. "How about now?"

"Getting there," Rick said, pushing the kimono off her shoulders. "Definitely getting there." One of his hands trailed up her sides, lingering along the edge of her bra before he dipped his head to kiss her again, swiftly moving along her jaw to lick behind her ear and lightly bite Kate's earlobe, knowing it always made her moan.

"Clothes off, Mr Castle," she demanded, reaching for his jacket and mirroring his earlier actions with her kimono to remove it. Next went the tie, but before she could make a start on his shirt's buttons, he had taken one of her thighs and hitched her leg up. Reflexively, she curled the limb around his body before he took hold of her second leg and lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bed.

* * *

><p>"Definitely the best surprise ever," he said breathlessly as he lay flat on his back beside her, staring up at the ceiling in wonder. "Could really do with that couple's massage now, though," he added with a wince as he turned his head to look at her and felt the twinge of a protesting muscle.<p>

Chuckling, she patted his chest. "Sorry, that was just a set up because of the last time we were here, remember?"

"Oh, I remember, though certain things stick out more than others…" A satisfied grin spread across his face as he pictured Kate rising out of the hotel swimming pool in a nude bikini that had made him think for longer than a split second that she had gone skinny dipping. He turned to her, ready to ask if she'd come prepared for a swim in the pool but she beat him to it, covering his open lips with a finger.

"The bikini didn't make the trip, Castle." He pouted in disappointment, frown lines deepening as she rolled her eyes at him before getting out of the bed and disappearing into the bathroom. "But this one did," she said, reappearing and holding out the tiniest red bikini he had ever seen. It wasn't lost on him that it was a piece of her clothing that he had never had the pleasure of seeing before, a confusing fact considering they shared a closet.

"Oh, I approve. Much better than the old one. In fact, this trip to LA is already starting to exceed the last. For a start we're sleeping in the same bed this time."

She couldn't resist teasing him again and bit her lip as she replied, "We almost did last time, you know."

"What?"

"After I got up and went to bed that night… We both know if I'd stayed, we'd have kissed." He nodded an affirmation; eyes completely trained on her as she left the bikini on a chair and made her way back to the bed, sitting facing him. "Well, I changed my mind and came back out but you'd just gone to bed."

He groaned. "You're kidding. I take it back. I'm not amazed at the depths of your strength, your heart and your hotness; I'm amazed at your restraint when it came to your obvious feelings for me."

"Shut up," Kate laughed, pushing at his side. "I thought we'd been through this – I didn't always have feelings for you. You fell for me first, remember?"

He paused for a moment before offering her his hand to shake. "Agree to disagree?"

* * *

><p>"So," Rick said as he pushed her chair towards the table for her, "couldn't wait just one week to see me?"<p>

Rolling her eyes, Kate just turned her attention to the menu and scanned what food the hotel restaurant was offering that evening.

"I get it, Kate. I'm irresistible, and hey, it's okay. I missed you too."

Setting the menu down, Kate met his eyes and took his hand. "Actually, there was another reason I flew out to see you." For a moment she debated, wondering whether it was the kind of discussion she wanted to have in the middle of a busy dining room. In the end Castle made the decision for her.

"You wanted to celebrate right? Like we planned?"

Laughing, Kate did her best to smile and nod. "Yeah, well, you helped close the case after all, and you had your own good news. It didn't seem right to wait." It wasn't exactly a lie. She had been looking forward to the chance for them to celebrate their good news together. She could hardly enjoy her week off after solving the murders of Rachel Winters and Monica and James Cleaver without the man who'd given her some of the vital evidence she'd needed. It had been a no-brainer, deciding to fly out and see him.

As soon as the wine they'd chosen arrived, Rick held up his glass and toasted, "To us then."

"To us," she echoed, smiling as she lifted her glass into the air and clinked it against his before taking her first sip.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So… thoughts? If you're still with me after about three weeks of no updates, THANK YOU! Also, if you're still alive after the finale, and not a heart-broken wreck... I genuinely don't know understand how. Please tell me your secret, because I was fine until In My Veins came on my iPod last night and then I was suddenly crying.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks so much for the continued support for this story. I'm a bit too busy to respond to reviews individually at the moment - blame my crazy revision schedule at the moment. I really do appreciate all of you taking your time to let me know what you think. You guys always manage to make me smile when I read the reviews.**

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><p>While Rick signed books, Kate was content to stay behind the scenes, quietly conversing with the few customers who weren't waiting in line for her husband. The staff were gracious in bringing an armchair around and setting it behind a bookcase so that the crowd couldn't see her and she could enjoy reading something. Ironically enough, the section of the store that her chair was placed in just happened to be the health section, and<em> What to Expect when you're Expecting <em>was all too visible at eye level. She knew that if Rick had any idea of the kind of thoughts she'd been having since meeting Madeline Cleaver, he would say it was a sign from the universe just like that elephant onesie she'd seen in _Babies R Us _and all the children who she'd swear had stared at her over the last few weeks. If that was the case, all she had to say was that the universe had to have a strange sense of humour. She could hardly try to have kids with her husband when he was in the middle of a book tour.

Sighing, Kate pushed herself out of her armchair and ignored the looks Paula was sending her way, instead walking off towards the fiction shelves despite knowing that she would soon draw attention from the waiting fans even though Rick had his charm turned right on and was interacting with the fans more enthusiastically than he had for the whole tour.

She'd barely been away from her comfy armchair for three minutes when someone first caught sight of her and decided that they just _had_ to come and talk to her.

"Oh my," the woman gushed. "You're Richard Castle's wife, aren't you? Detective Beckett?! The store didn't tell us you would be here too or I'd have brought my daughter with me. You're such an inspiration to us all."

"Well, thank you, but I'm not sure I'm an inspiration-" Kate began, trying to extricate herself from the situation.

"-Oh, sure you are. You've got the highest closure rate in all of New York and you were the youngest woman to ever make Detective. You're the inspiration for _the_ best mystery series on the shelves at the moment. Nobody loves any other series as much as they love the _Nikki Heat _books and you're her. You're Nikki Heat."

"I think people underestimate how much is me and how much is Rick's great writing-"

"-But without you, Nikki Heat wouldn't exist at all."

Kate squirmed. She still wasn't comfortable with the assumption that Nikki Heat was a carbon copy of herself, or the idea that she deserved as much credit for the book series as Rick did. She was beginning to think that she should have heeded Paula's warning look when she first got out of her chair. Or that maybe she should have accepted Castle's offer to just stay in the hotel and relax. They did have the pool there, of course, and all the room service she could ever want. Still, she'd stubbornly said she wanted to be there to support him, so if she was in a sticky situation now, it was her own fault.

Deciding not to argue anymore, Kate simply acquiesced. "I guess you're right. I'm just glad people feel that they can relate to Nikki." That much at least was true. As a female cop, a detective no less – a minority in the police force – she appreciated what Rick had been able to do for the character he had based on her. Although she repeatedly stressed the differences between herself and her fictional representation, she was grateful that people had stopped asking her why she'd wanted to be a police officer of all things and started to instead respect her life choices. Trying for a smile, Kate swiftly moved away, picking the first book she could lay her hands on and dashing back to her armchair and Paula's watchful gaze.

* * *

><p>"Trying to tell me something?" Rick asked, smirking as Kate startled, almost dropping the book in her lap onto the floor as she blinked repeatedly, having been completely sucked in by what she was reading.<p>

"Your book," he replied, nodding at the front cover, which Kate flipped over despite already knowing she was reading _The Detective's Daughter _by Lesley Thomson. He looked on as she laughed nervously, memorising the number of the page she had reached before shutting the book. "Ready to leave? Get some lunch?"

"Sure, just let me pay for this first."

Nodding, Rick waited for Kate to pull her waterproof jacket and scarf on before he took the book from her head and took it to the cash register, paying on her behalf. He even carried the book for her as they stepped out into the drizzling rain and wandered the streets until a restaurant caught their eyes and they could agree on what they wanted to eat. Eventually they entered a European place.

"So…thanksgiving…" he mumbled around a mouthful of seafood linguine.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking we should do something when I get back. Invite the boys, Lanie, your dad around, you know, get the gang together."

"Sounds good," Kate murmured as soon as she had taken a sip of her water to wet her tongue. With Paula's schedule conflict, Rick was going to be back in New York for a month, coming back just a few days after her own return. "Just…no fancy dress," she requested, remembering how outlandish each of his Halloween parties had been. She didn't think her dad would enjoy that kind of spectacle.

He nodded. "Just good food and good company."

She smiled, running her heeled foot up the inside of one of his calves initially as a way of saying thank you, though of course the way he subsequently jumped in his chair, staring at her in shock even though it wasn't the first time she'd done such things over dinner or in public places, sent a bit of thrill through her. Pity it was still just lunch and he had another engagement to be getting to once they were done eating.

She wouldn't be joining him for that one, although she'd wanted to. When he'd suggested that she spend the afternoon in the spa though, relaxing after a few stressful weeks working two homicide cases side by side, she had to admit it was an attractive option. So instead of going along to another book store, she hopped into a cab and returned to their hotel, only stopping up in their suite for a moment to drop off her jacket, purse and book, collecting instead her bikini and one of the room's towel robes, before taking the elevator down a floor and entering the spa.

By the time Rick returned two hours later, she was feeling thoroughly pampered after having spent quite some time lounging languidly in the Jacuzzi with the best facial she'd ever had before resting on a massage table as each of the knots was systematically worked out of her muscles.

"Okay," he announced as he entered the suite, "I've just got time for a quick shower and then we'll be on our way." He drew up short at the sight of Kate sprawled across their king size bed wearing nothing more than a towel while she read. Groaning, he closed his eyes and took a few moments to breathe, trying to calm his racing thoughts and the impulse to roll her onto her back and peel away the towel. "Not looking, not looking. Shower, have to get in the shower."

She chuckled, bookmarking her place in the book before getting to her feet and following him into the bathroom before reaching around him to unbuckle his belt.

"Alone!" he yelped, springing away from her and turning in mid-air. "I have to shower alone. Or we will be _really _late and Paula will flay me to within an inch of my life."

"Later then," Kate responded, patting his chest before leaving him to it. The running shower was her only accompaniment as she got rid of the towel and began dressing again, putting on more seductive underwear before the navy, floor-length gown she'd thought to bring along. Luckily for her, she had had her nails manicured in the spa, so all that was left was to start primping. Making up her face, she heard the shower shut off and met Rick's eyes in the reflection of the vanity mirror before darting her gaze down his body and stopping at the towel he held closed around his hips. "Your tux is on the bed." It was an unnecessary sentence since the bed was between them both, in plain view, but his eyes seemed drawn to her rather than it.

Simply nodding, he busied himself with dressing, slipping his _Batman _socks on underneath his black trousers and struggling with his cufflinks until Kate rose to help him, closing his right sleeve when his left hand proved to not have enough dexterity. She helped him with his bowtie too, only ducking slightly to see underneath his chin since she wasn't wearing her heels yet.

"You look beautiful, Kate," he murmured quietly, making a soft blush flare on her cheeks as she glanced up at him before returning her attention to her handiwork.

When she was done, he gave her a moment to finish getting ready; putting on the pair of smart shoes he'd had the hotel polish while she took the chain bearing her mother's ring from around her neck, replacing it with a necklace Castle had bought her earlier in their relationship.

As she slid her feet into her open-toe high heels, she held onto Rick's arm and then he looked at her. "Ready?"

"Let's go," she said with a smile, linking her fingers through his to walk out with him. Upon reaching the entrance of the hotel, Rick held the car door open long enough for her to slide into the back of their limo for the evening before joining her, the two of them sitting side by side with their joined hands resting on his thigh.

* * *

><p>Kate did her best to stay out of the limelight as they arrived at the LAPD's charity ball, but it was the first time she'd stepped out with her husband since they'd married on October 15th and none of the photographers were missing the chance to get a shot of them together or close-ups of the rings that now permanently adorned her finger. She wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow she found emails from <em>Twitter <em>in her inbox with people telling her about pictures of her/them in the morning paper.

Once they'd managed to actually get inside the venue, Detective Seeger appeared at Rick's side to greet them and thank them for coming, giving them a genuine smile after they'd helped him arrest serial robber – and murderer – Russell Ganz the last time they'd been in Los Angeles. He gave them a much more congenial welcome, leaving aside the threats to spend an hour or two in lockup and instead showed them straight to the bar, placing orders for three glasses of white wine.

"Heard about the wedding," Seeger said while they waited for their drinks. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Kate and Rick replied, speaking in unison. Awkward and embarrassed as of course their brief acquaintance with Seeger had not warranted an invitation to their small ceremony, Kate pressed her lips into a tight smile and rocked on the balls of her feet, colliding lightly into Castle's side until he lifted an arm and wrapped her in a loose grip.

"I didn't know you were on the list of attendees, Detective."

She shrugged, glancing at Rick and smiling as she told Seeger, "I wasn't. I flew out to surprise Rick after my captain gave me some time off. I'm just the plus one tonight."

"All the better for us then. Donations will get a hit, I'm sure."

Castle beamed with pride as he accepted his wine and passed a second glass to his wife, toasting the hopeful success of the evening with the two police detectives.

Excusing themselves, Rick and Kate leave Seeger at the bar, alone until a colleague joined him and they started on the whiskey. Instead, Rick escorted his wife to a table and pulled out her chair for her, mirroring his earlier actions from their lunch. Every table already had a jug of chilled water on it in preparation of the meal which was soon to be served. After the filling lunch they'd eaten, neither Kate nor her husband were sure they really had the appetite for a three course meal; but a commitment was a commitment. Paula could seethe for hours and become downright hostile when Rick missed one of his engagements. Neither of them were sure what to expect from the evening – already they'd noticed the atmosphere was different from what they had ever experienced at any of New York City's police balls or galas. Instead of the refined kind of party they came to accept whenever they were in the company of the mayor and the city's politicians, they found themselves surrounded by loud conversations and enthusiastic greetings, looking on with interest and amusement since most of the other attendees passed them by without a second glance. A pang of longing for the company of Lanie and Esposito, Ryan and Jenny, even Captain Gates, filled Kate's chest; but of course their friends and colleagues wouldn't be joining them. Reaching for Rick's hand, she squeezed tight and decided to ignore the people milling around them and taking their own seats.

"What exactly is your obligation tonight then? Any speeches? Any handing out of awards? Partaking in auctions?" she asked, smirking at him over her last suggestion.

Giving her a flat look as memories of their first night undercover filled his head, Rick replied, "No, only my presence is required," adding an afterthought a moment later, "Oh, and my cheque book."

"Shame, a ruggedly handsome guy like you could have blown all the other 'items' out of the water."

"It's true, I would smoke all the competition. I was New York's ninth most eligible bachelor, remember."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just met a detective who stole my heart and had her wicked way with me so I married her," he told her with a devilish grin.

"So dramatic," Kate huffed, leaning towards him to bump her shoulder into him. "If I recall, _you _were the one who chased after me and wore me down so it's not really my fault you no longer live the bachelor existence."

"Touché. It was still the best decision I ever made though." Short and sincere, Rick smoothed his fingers across Kate's cheek, tilting her head so she would stop looking down to hide the flush spreading across her skin, before hooking them at her ear and jaw and moving his mouth over hers in a gentle kiss.

"Have I told you how glad I am you flew down here to surprise me?"

Kate hummed noncommittally, sliding her own palm around his neck to toy with his hair.

"I'm was so happy to see you." A smirk crossed Kate's features. "Not like that! Mind out of the gutter, Mrs Castle, though yes that part of me was happy to see you too. I just mean I appreciate it. You've made this a lot more fun."

"I told you before, Castle, that you make my job fun. Maybe it's time I start repaying the favour, huh?"

"I could get used to that," Rick shrugged, coming back to her lips for a second taste.

"You guys are so romantic!" A voice suddenly exclaimed, pulling them apart. It didn't take long for the Castles to look up and see the young woman sporting a dark, pixie crop right beside the table. "How long have you been together?"

"Five years," Rick answered at the same time Kate said, "Just over a year."

"Five years, a year…which is it?" the young woman asked.

Chuckling, Rick let his hands drop away from Kate's face and explained that it had been five years since they met, but they'd only been in a relationship for a little over a year. "We spend every day together at work, you know, sometimes it feels like we've been married a lot longer than a month."

"I hear you," she replied, "my partner and I always joke about how I'm his work wife. I'm Karen, by the way."

"Kate."

"Rick."

Karen nodded, shaking each of their hands in turn, before dropping into one of the vacant seats at their table. "So, how did you meet?"

"I arrested him," Kate offered, flicking a grin at Rick as she nudged his leg under the table. "He was a person of interest in my murder investigation-"

"-Person of interest?! You just wanted my expert help, Kate. That and you're a fan, my biggest fan."

Karen watched the two bicker again with a droll expression, before interrupting the light-hearted argument with another question. "So what happened then?"

"Well, of course, I wasn't her murderer, so she let me go and then I helped her solve the case. Gentleman that I am, I asked her out on a date – she refused, of course. But I couldn't quite let her go," Rick answered, looking at his wife with a nostalgic twinkle in his eye, remembering that first time he'd sat down at his laptop and typed about Nikki. All she was back then was a few lines of description on a page. Interestingly enough though, the first scene he wrote was actually what proved to be one of the last ones in the book – Nikki and Rook's victory. "She inspired me. So I called up my good friend the Mayor and asked whether he could pull some strings and get me access to the NYPD's Detective Beckett."

"So you're the reason why there are so many more reporters out there than usual," Karen deduced, flinging her thumb back towards the lobby. "You're Richard Castle."

Rick opened his mouth, but Kate beat him to it, pushing one finger against his lips and instructing, "Don't you dare say 'the one and only.'"

Karen laughed, meeting Kate's eyes and drawing attention back to her.

"So what about you, Karen? Tell us your story," Rick requested, reaching across the table for Kate's hand.

"My story? There's nothing much to tell. I'm just a beat cop, not long out of the academy actually. Though my dad is the Chief of Police."

* * *

><p>"I'm so tired," Kate yawned as they entered their hotel suite, already stepping out of her heels and taking her earrings out. Her necklace swiftly followed suit, being placed carefully on top of the dressed as Kate walked past on her way to the bathroom. It had been an enjoyable evening, but she'd have preferred it if there had been more to do. Not working for the LAPD, there hadn't really been many people either she or Castle could talk to, and the only activities for the evening had passed by quickly, leaving them both wishing they weren't obligated to stay until the end of the night.<p>

She could feel Rick's eyes on her as she removed her makeup, and turned to find him leaning against the doorframe, eyes roaming appreciatively over her figure.

"You're leaving tomorrow morning, Kate. I hope you're not too tired…"

Sauntering forwards, Kate patted his chest reassuringly before squeezing past him to perch on the end of the bed.

"What are you waiting for then?" she asked, signalling for him to join her.

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><p><strong>AN: If anyone is annoyed by the fact that this is really behind time as it's still set in 2013, I really do apologise. Sometimes it's hard for me to wrap my head around too. Anyways, thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So, yeah, you guys are getting this chapter early because I had my last exam today and I want to celebrate. Thanks so much for all of your recent reviews, favourites and follows. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Heading into the bustle of work was a shock to the system after a weekend spent with Rick. But Kate just kept her head down and settled her things at her desk before demanding of the boys, "What have we got?"<p>

"Well, I'd say this case is more Castle flavoured than Beckett flavoured," Esposito announced, tapping the image of a man on their murder board with the end of his pen. "Meet Simon Doyle. Time-traveler extraordinaire."

"You're kidding."

"Wish I was. Dude didn't even fail the psych eval we ordered as soon as we booked him though he sure was acting loco. You wanna interview him?"

"Give me a few minutes," she said with a nod, wanted to get started on booting up her computer and sorting through the few memos and emails that were likely to have piled up while she was away. "So what'd you guys do with your week off?"

"Just hung around with Jenny and Sarah Grace," Ryan answered with a smile and a shrug.

"Joined a few of my college buddies for a game and drinks. You go and see Castle?"

"Yeah, went to the LAPD's charity ball with him," Kate told Kevin and Javi distractedly as she looked over the case file on Shauna Taylor's murder. It was a shame Rick wasn't there – it was exactly the kind of case he'd have loved. Very Beckett-flavoured, if the crime scene photos of Shauna Taylor's tortured body, and the transcript of Simon Doyle's session with their psychiatrist were anything to go by.

"If you want the actual psych eval footage, Tori can show you," Espo commented before reseating himself behind his desk and starting on his paperwork now that he didn't have to go and interview their resident crazy. She nodded, but continued reading, only standing and walking away when she had finished with the file and was ready to go ahead and get Doyle brought up to one of the interrogation rooms. While she waited, she checked through her emails and finished up her morning coffee, wishing Castle had been able to make it for her – it always tasted different to when she did it herself.

* * *

><p>Her interrogation of Simon Doyle went much as she thought it would, except for the part when she had introduced herself and he had inquired as to the whereabouts of her husband. At first she had thought nothing of it. Anybody was capable of picking up the newspaper and seeing the photo of Rick's proposal that had been leaked, or the announcement of their wedding along with the one photo of them hugging outside Trinity Church, the one that Paula had insisted be released to the press.<p>

Without pause, she had left his question unanswered and instead asked, "So, what were you doing at Shauna Taylor's apartment yesterday?"

"Same thing you were, I expect. Trying to find her killer."

"Except all the evidence points to you," Kate had gone on to explain, watching Simon Doyle carefully for any change in his calm behaviour.

"Sure, the evidence points to me. But what about the story?"

"I'm sorry. The story?"

"Yeah, ever since you started working with Richard Castle, you started to look for the story as well as the evidence." _That _gave her pause. Rick's insistence on looking at the wider picture, finding the story behind each and every murder that made its way across her desk was not something that either of them had ever told the media. It wasn't information that had even made it into her reports. "It's what gave your team the best closure rate in New York and what gets you voted into the Senate."

She gaped for a moment, before pushing aside the notion that she would ever win a seat in Congress. It wasn't the first time a suspect had tried to distract her during interrogation.

"Okay fine," she said. "Why don't I tell you how much of the story we know?" She didn't give him time to answer before continuing to speak. "You were seen outside Shauna's apartment, Simon. You were _stalking _her, _harassing _her. Did you know she told her family and friends she was afraid of you? It doesn't take a lot to connect the dots. Did your obsession turn into something else, Simon?"

"No!" Simon replied emphatically, "You don't understand. You're making a big mistake. I was meant to save her, and I failed. A chain of events has been set into motion and if I don't figure out how to stop it, billions of people will die."

Ignoring him, Kate piled her papers up, preparing to leave.

* * *

><p>"He's not your killer," Lanie announced without looking up.<p>

"What do you mean he's not the killer?"

"I mean," her best friend replied, pausing as she concentrated on placing a slide underneath her microscope, "time of death was between midnight and two AM. Doyle wasn't released from psychiatric hold until four AM, right?" Kate nodded mutely. "It can't be him."

"No, it has to be him," she insisted. "He was stalking her and he was at the crime scene. Esposito got prints back from CSU – he was there!"

"Yeah, hours after she was dead," Lanie pointed out. The both of them knew there was going to be no way to tell how long Doyle's prints had been inside Shauna Taylor's apartment. "In fact time of death was probably closer to one AM. See her watch? It stopped at twelve fifty eight, probably from one of the electric shocks."

Kate stifled a groan, suddenly glad that Castle wasn't with her to take Lanie's side and buy into Simon Doyle's delusion. In her mind, she still did not doubt that the man she currently had sitting in lockup was her murderer.

As if she could read Kate's mind, Lanie said, "And there's something else." With one hand she beckoned Beckett over to the body, holding a black light torch over the skin of Shauna Taylor's neck to highlight a couple of marks of interest. "She was with someone the night she was killed. Once I cleaned away the blood, I saw these."

"Is that lipstick?"

"Mmhm. He's not your guy."

Sighing, Kate turned on her heel, already dialling Ryan's number to update the boys on the situation and get them looking for a new lead to follow.

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><p>It took them two long days to solve the case. As she and the boys finished up their paperwork and packed away the case files, Ryan having caught them up on the link between Doyle and Garret Ward, the three of them joked about how ridiculous the whole time-traveler-sent-back-in-time-to-save-the-world story was.<p>

"Very Terminator-esque," Ryan said as he put the last of his files into the cardboard box on his desk that had already been marked for the archives.

Esposito threw down his pen seconds later and hurried to push his own paperwork into the box, exclaiming, "And I'm out," as he grabbed his coat and didn't even stop to bother pushing his arms into it before he hustled his way to the elevator. "See you!

Kate met Ryan's eyes and shared a small smile, the both of them knowing the only reason Esposito would be rushing away at the end of his shift, incidentally wearing one of his nicest shirts, would be if he was heading out with their medical examiner.

"I'm off too," Kevin told her, patiently pulling on his coat and throwing his scarf around his neck. "Say hello to Castle for me?"

"Sure." Kate smiled gently, waving off her friend who had to get home to his wife and daughter. She worked diligently in the quiet of the bull pen, alone save for one of the detectives on Karpowski's team, and once she was finished, she stood to place her own files in the box that would store all of their work on Shauna Taylor's case. As she packed her things, she shifted her long-gone-cold cup of takeaway coffee from Starbucks across to the centre of the desk, needing to get the pad of paper out from beneath it, only to knock it down and over the last remaining piece of evidence on her desk, the letter from Paul Deschile that had somehow been buried in the piles of paper that had amassed on her desk over the two days she'd been back.

"Oh, shoot!" she exclaimed, immediately righting the cup and grabbing the first thing to hand to blot at the letter which had been almost completely saturated with coffee.

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><p>She drove in a daze, probably only making it back to the loft without getting into a wreck by some kind of miracle. On autopilot, she thumbed the correct button in the elevator and managed to get her key into the lock on the door without even looking, entering and shutting the it behind her while still only thinking about the letter she had spilt coffee over, and how it now matched exactly the picture that they had found in the power plant Ward had been hiding in.<p>

For the entirety of the case she had not once bought into Simon Doyle's story, not even when he had told her she'd become a senator and have three kids, or that Rick would write serious literature instead of his crime novels. Seeing the letter though, it had become a lot more plausible.

Would three kids really be that bad?

Somehow she couldn't see herself being a senator, but a mother to three children? She thought she could cope with that. Would look forward to it, even.

Before she knew it though, she'd been sat on the couch for well over an hour, contemplating the case and the future, and Rick had managed to walk in through the front door without her even hearing. It wasn't until he was stood in front of her, waving his hand before her face and saying, "Hello, earth to Kate," that she blinked and startled, eyes flashing up to his face.

"You're back!"

He nodded, looking confused as he replied, "Did you not get the text I sent you after the plane landed?"

Kate dug around for her phone, finding it between the two couch cushions before she swiped her thumb over the screen to unlock it and see that she did indeed have a message from him that she obviously hadn't heard the ringtone for.

"Sorry, I was just distracted." It was the only explanation she offered before standing and moving into the kitchen, stomach growling for food. "You hungry, babe?"

"I ate on the plane," he murmured, staring at her as he wondered what it was that was on her mind.

If he hadn't noticed her quieter than usual demeanour in LA too, he would have been inclined to believe she was probably just thinking about an open case, or that winter was making her more melancholy. He'd observed that before. That she could become slightly withdrawn in the winter months, brooding silently as she remembered her mother in the approach of the anniversary of her death. In the last year though, she had been better at letting him in during those times. And he speculated instead what might be casing her distraction, if perhaps she wasn't very satisfied with the way things had been going since the wedding. They hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together, he knew, but she'd never said that that was a problem. Maybe they _were _getting boring.

"Kate?"

"Hmm?" she asked, shielded from his view by the open fridge door.

"What's going on?"

She paused, one hand holding on to the casserole dish of leftovers from the previous night while the other held onto the door handle beside her. Popping back into view, she bumped the open door closed with her hip, putting the heavy glass dish down on the side and leaning all of her weight on her two hands gripping the edge of the counter, before answering, "What do you mean?"

"I mean…what aren't you telling me? Because I know there's something going on, something big, and you're hiding it from me-"

"-No, Rick," Kate said quickly, interrupting him before he could get the wrong idea, "I'm not- I'm not hiding anything. Baby, I swear I'm not keeping things from you. I just needed to wait. There's something I want to discuss with you, but you were going out on your book tour and it didn't seem fair to unload it all on you and then send you on your way nor tell you over the phone."

She was too serious, staring at a point just past him rather than looking him in the face, both facts which sent an icicle of fear into his heart. "Kate, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Immediately a million different scenarios ran through his head: divorce, cancer, other terminal illness, something wrong with one of their friends, her father… the list went on, growing exponentially in just a few seconds.

One look at his crumpled face had her pushing off the counter and rounding the island to join her husband who seemed frozen to the spot. Still stood in front of the couch, Kate tugged on Rick's hands until his knees buckled and he fell into one of the sofa seats. She sat facing him, pulling her knees up partially under her and holding onto both of his hands still. Their entwined palms rested atop one of her thighs, a sight she focused on as she drew in a breath, trying to collect herself enough to begin.

"I want to have a baby with you."

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><p><strong>AN: So… the conversation is finally happening… **

**Let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter. I have no idea how time is getting so far away from me! Quick thank yous for all of your reviews you guys. I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the previous chapter. I hope this one is just as good. ;)**

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><p>"<em>Kate, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Immediately a million different scenarios ran through his head: divorce, cancer, other terminal illness, something wrong with one of their friends, her father… the list went on, growing exponentially in just a few seconds. <em>

_One look at his crumpled face had her pushing off the counter and rounding the island to join her husband who seemed frozen to the spot. Still stood in front of the couch, Kate tugged on Rick's hands until his knees buckled and he fell into one of the sofa seats. She sat facing him, pulling her knees up partially under her and holding onto both of his hands still. Their entwined palms rested atop one of her thighs, a sight she focused on as she drew in a breath, trying to collect herself enough to begin. _

"_I want to have a baby with you."_

"What?" Rick asked, barely managing to get the words out. Shock had his vocal cords in a vice-like grip. That list he'd been constructing in his head, well Kate wanting kids hadn't been a possibility that had even registered in his mind.

Her smile was a gentle thing, like a butterfly swiftly but surely spreading its wings.

"I want to have a baby with you," she repeated, pacing her words just a tad slower to make sure the meaning sunk in with him. The nerves she'd felt about this moment, the irrational fear that he would not want children with her, that all disappeared in an instant because while he had clearly been taken by surprise by her request, he had yet to refuse it and the moment it all clicked together in his mind, his arms were thrown around her, tugging her body so far into his she ended up in his lap.

His lips pressed against hers once, twice, thrice before he finally pulled away enough to look at her with clarity and say, "I would _love _to have a baby with you." It seemed kind of sudden since not once before this day had they ever remotely discussed whether they wanted children. It had been an image in his head for a long time definitely, but he hadn't thought it had been in hers too. Staring into her eyes, he pictured it again, his beautiful wife crouching down before a girl who was pretty much her mirror-image to fit a baseball mitt onto her hand. The words slipped from his mouth in a murmur. "We're going to make beautiful kids-"

"Kid-_s_?" she questioned, "Who said anything about multiple babies? I think we need to get number one underway before we start thinking about how many more there'll be afterwards."

He floundered for a moment before a sly expression came over his face. "So you agree that there'll be more than one?"

She grinned cheekily, making him grin back at her. He loved her playful side, could see it coming out before she even spoke.

"Apparently we'll have three," she replied with a shrug, slipping out of his lap and standing, walking into the kitchen to get started on heating up the leftover casserole, knowing there was no way he wouldn't take the bait and trail after her. Her husband was infinitely curious, and not knowing what she was talking about was sure to drive him crazy.

Sure enough, as she rounded the island/breakfast bar in the centre of the kitchen and once more picked up the casserole dish, he stood and followed in her footsteps.

"You been talking to Penny again?"

"Nope." Turning away from him, Kate put the dish into the microwave with a grin, just waiting for the next question.

"Some other psychic?"

She just shook her head, setting the timer. A few more moments of silence passed before his next question.

"This case related?"

She gave him that one, spinning and answering, "Maybe," with a grin that quite clearly said he was on the right track.

"So…someone told you we're going to have three kids…anything else?"

She returned to the island, the both of them standing on opposite sides facing each other, and leaned forwards, resting her weight on her elbow before cocking her head and pretending to be deep in thought as she replied, "There might have been some kind of time travel involved-"

He leapt on the words immediately, his excitement making his eyes go wide as he practically danced around the island to stand before her. "-You met a time traveller!"

She just quirked an eyebrow, smirking at his reaction to the news. Although she knew that the case she'd worked that day was the kind of thing that Rick would have fallen hook, line and sinker for and loved; she was still amused by the level of his exuberance. Were he any more childish, he'd have been jumping up and down like a five year old on Christmas morning. She smiled wider at that thought, hoping that it was something in their near future – kids excitedly bouncing on the bed to wake her up.

The beep of the microwave finishing its cycle and her quick steps over to it disturbed Rick's initial energy and brought another question to his mind.

"Hang on a second. I thought you didn't believe in this kind of stuff, Kate… Magic, ghosts, vampires… What's changed?"

She shrugged as she answered, "Maybe you make me believe in this kind of stuff, Rick." A moment passed before she acquiesced and explained exactly why she was willingly to believe that Simon Doyle was indeed from the future. "Or maybe I spilt coffee over a piece of evidence and only after I'd done that did it match a photo we'd already been given earlier in the investigation."

Of course, after that Rick demanded a full explanation of the case, so he sat with her while she ate the casserole and enjoyed a glass of scotch while he listened, waiting until she was finished before he took her dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Giving her a glass of wine and escorting her to the couch, they sat comfortably side by side, her legs thrown slightly over his while one of his hands ran rampant over her thigh and traced random patterns.

"So…kids… how do you want to do this?" he asked. "Do you just want to come off the pill and see what happens or are we actively trying…"

"You mean am I going to make a schedule of when we're allowed to have sex?" she returned, grinning because she knew that his own questions had largely been him trying to phrase her own more eloquently. "I just started a new pack of pills last week," she said, watching as his smile lessened fractionally. She was quick to continue. "_But _that doesn't mean we can't practise."

His grin returned double-fold as he put his glass down on the table and began purposefully pulling on her legs until she was sat astride him and he had an excellent view of her cleavage where one of the buttons of her shirt was undone right at his eye level. The timbre of his voice sent a pool of heat to her stomach as he replied, "You know, I _love _the way you think, Detective."

Without further words he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the right side of her neck, simultaneously running his hands up her thighs to her butt and squeezing.

"Right back at you," she gasped, groaning and jerking her hips as his teeth grazed over her skin.

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><p><strong>AN: I know this is really short so I'm sorry for that! For some reason, I really couldn't feel where I wanted this chapter to go. I knew how I wanted him to react, but that was pretty much it. Hopefully, I can make the next chapter a more satisfying length. **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your reviews on the last chapter. I'm so glad that you're all still enjoying this story! **

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><p>Hair still dripping wet, curling limply against her back, Kate left the bedroom with a wide grin on her face and something clutched in one hand behind her back. Facing the stove, with his nose buried in an old recipe Kate had dug out of one of the boxes that housed some of her mother's possessions; Rick didn't see her come and stand in the kitchen with him, leaning against the island in the centre. In fact, he didn't even know she was out of the shower until she called his name.<p>

"Hmm?"

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she tugged just enough to get him to spin around to face her. A crooked grin seemed to appear automatically before she'd even revealed what was in her hand. As he put his hands on her waist and tugged her to stand between his legs, he apparently didn't even notice she was holding onto anything.

"Morning," he murmured before dipping his head and doubling the sentiment with their first kiss. He'd left Kate sleeping in that morning, getting up earlier to make a start on making dinner for their little Thanksgiving get together, so it was his first opportunity to give her a good morning kiss.

She beamed back at him, the smile refusing to fade as she whipped the hand she'd kept behind her up and held aloft what he quickly identified as an empty packet of contraceptive pills, the foil over each well ripped open to show the clear plastic beneath.

"Soon, babe," she told him, throwing her arms around his neck and pushing up onto her bare toes to meet his lips again.

Unrestrained happiness had him grabbing her by the hips again, lifting her and seating her on the counter where she didn't have to stretch to cup his cheeks as she kissed him.

* * *

><p>She sat and watched him meticulously follow her mother's recipe for pumpkin layer cake, resisting the temptation to step in and help whenever he muttered his confusion. Although she'd never been able to make the dessert herself, finding it painful just to look at her mother's neat handwriting on the box of recipe cards she'd held onto; she could still remember watching her mother make those dishes year upon year, could remember sometimes helping out with pies and cakes.<p>

Finally he gave up on wondering however and outright asked her whether he should start poaching the apples yet or just wait until the cake had finished cooking in the oven.

She checked her dad's old watch before answering, "Give it another five minutes then start the apples. Want me to start on the dips?"

Martha was due to arrive any second, having gone out quickly in the morning to catch up with an old friend back in the city for the holiday weekend, and while Alexis was yet to emerge from her bedroom, they both knew it wouldn't be long before her father and their friends arrived too. The turkey would go into the oven later along with the vegetables, but they did need to put some snacks out.

Dropping down from the counter onto her bare feet, Kate tied her hair up into a messy bun just so that the wispy tendrils that often hung in her field of vision were tucked away and there was less chance of her getting hair in everyone's food.

Rick had already had a grocery delivery a few days before with a variety of flavoured chips, but they'd decided in all their wisdom to make the dips themselves. The salsa was easy enough, just involving Kate mincing the garlic as small as possible, chucking it into a pot with some diced tomatoes and their juice, some lime juice and coriander and some chopped chillies. The hummus and guacamole were done with relative ease once she put the ingredients into the food processor. It was Rick's idea to add lemon to the hummus along with the salt and pepper seasoning. She figured that those three dips alone would probably be satisfactory for their gathering of friends. Her husband however, just could settle with simplicity and had found a bunch of other recipes on the internet that he thought would go down well. She'd vetoed his idea of putting out a small bowl of melted chocolate straight away, but he was adamant about making fennel and parmesan dip – a Martha Stewart favourite (because that was supposed to convince her) – as well as some sort of pistachio concoction and an olive and caper dip, all of which were their downfall.

Kate was still working away at caramelising the fennel when Alexis came down, thankfully already dressed and ready to start helping by setting the table and putting the nibbles into dishes around the living room. She was still trying to get the too-thick olive and caper paste out of the food processor when Martha breezed into the house and poured herself a glass of wine, hanging around in the kitchen seemingly just to supervise Kate's struggle. When Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny with little Sarah Grace arrived, she'd almost given up and was at the point of tearing her hair out when her father appeared at the door and joined her in the kitchen, sensing her inner calamity.

With calm hands he took the knife and spoon from her trembling hands and nudged her out of the way so he could get the last dregs of paste from the food processor.

"You know, when your mother and I first had her parents over to celebrate Christmas, I set the oven gloves on fire," he said, grabbing the olive oil from the back of the counter and drizzling some into the pot of dip to help give it a smoother, runnier texture. "I was so panicked with serving them drinks that I didn't notice I'd left them right on top of the stove."

Kate smiled in appreciation of her father's attempt to reassure her.

"If that wasn't bad enough, I forgot to set a timer for the meal and half of the vegetables were undercooked."

"You give anyone food poisoning?"

"Not quite, though your lovely grandmother might have had a small bowel problem that evening…"

Cracking a grin, Kate shook her head before turning to her father and wrapping her arms around him. Her nose pressed into his shoulder, taking in the mixed scents of wood, clove and ginger that surrounded him and reminded her of home and warm nights in front of the fire up in the family cabin.

"Thanks, Dad."

Shaking his head, Jim pressed a kiss to his daughter's head before releasing her and handing her the rusty-red coloured dip. He led the way out of the kitchen; clapping Rick and Javier on the shoulders on his way past before he dropped into the armchair that had apparently been left vacant for him.

Lanie and Alexis were busy chatting about college when Kate sat down near them, eyes wandering over everyone in the room. Esposito had a bottle of beer in one hand the other holding the television remote, ready to switch the channel from the airing of the Macys Parade, the instant Jenny's attention was too focused on Sarah Grace to notice him putting on the football game.

Her father was caught in a conversation with Martha, though the two of them had known each other long enough that they had most definitely buried the hatchet that had emerged during their first meeting.

"Kate, you want a drink, honey?" While she'd been busy in the kitchen, her husband had been fixing everyone else's drinks and now she was the last person left without a glass or bottle in hand, even though her father and Jenny were not drinking.

Ryan and Esposito smirked at her, both of them obviously highly amused by the fact that there tough-as-nails boss allowed her husband to call her pet names. Staring them down, she replied, "Sure, wine please, babe,' and dared them to voice an objection.

Of course, only Esposito was brave enough to crack a joke. "Pet names, Beckett? Really?" he asked. "Soon enough, you'll be too busy playing house with Castle to come into work."

"Don't pretend Lanie doesn't call you Romeo, Javi."

In the kitchen Rick guffawed. Ryan, who had been totally unaware of Javi's apparently rekindled relationship with Lanie, turned to his best friend in shock. "Dude, Romeo?"

Shooting her best friend a look, Kate laughed.

"If you think that's bad, you should hear what else she calls him," she added, smiling and chuckling with Rick as he returned with a glass half-filled with their best red wine.

Esposito shot her a glare, swiftly following it with the words, "Don't you dare," but before he could finish speaking, Kate had already divulged that his second nickname was munchkin. The word had barely left her mouth when Ryan fell about laughing, almost sloshing his own beer over his partner sat beside him.

"You can hardly talk, can you, Detective Honeymilk?"

"That's a name you guys gave me. Jenny doesn't use it," Kevin pointed out, ignoring Espo's glaring as he resettled himself in the seat and smiled at his wife, stretching one arm out along the back of the couch and around her shoulders until the tips of his fingers could rest against Sarah Grace's scalp. Since the baby's birth, she had not only almost doubled in size but she had also acquired a full head of incredibly light blonde hair, looking set to follow after her mother in her appearance.

Smirking still, Rick situated himself on the arm of Kate's chair, ready to leap up the instant the timer he'd set for the pumpkin cake reached the end of its countdown. Until then, he was content with being near his wife and enjoying the company and chatter of their close friends and family, even if they were poking fun at each other.

"Dad, where did you leave the wedding photos?" Alexis asked. "Lanie wants to see them."

"They're in an album in my office. I'll go-"

"-No, I'll go, Dad," Alexis offered, getting up from the other couch and heading towards his office with a cheery spring in her step. With the fire on, and the loft full of people, it was impossible not to feel happiness from head to toe.

"In the left side desk drawer," he called after her, waiting until she yelled back that she'd found it and returned. While everyone gathered around the sofa Lanie and Alexis were sharing, peering over shoulders and heads to see each of the photos along with Kate's neat notations beside them, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head before murmuring, "Going to go check on the cake." The words were barely out of his mouth and the oven timer began beeping. He shot Kate a grin, resisting the urge to say something about how he must be able to see into the future and instead opened the oven door. The heat wafted out into his face as he ducked down and pulled out the middle shelf with a folded teatowel to protect his hands. Perfectly browned, the cake looked delicious. Smelled it too. The loft quickly filled with the scent of pumpkin and cinnamon, drawing appreciative sniffs and words from their guests.

As soon as he had the cake out on the counter top, he grabbed the roasting tray with the turkey, already stuffed with herbs and sausage meat and covered with butter and salt and pepper, in it. The chicken broth he'd made the night before and refridgerated came out and was poured into the tray before he slid it into the oven in place of the cake, adjusting the temperature ever so slightly. A new timer was set for thirty minutes when he would remove it and baste the outside skin with the first lot of maple syrup. His next task, however, was to get the maple syrup boiled and reduced.

* * *

><p>With Rick busy in the kitchen, and the boys having finally got their way and managed to get the Green Bay Packers game against the Detroit Lions on the TV, Kate moved from her armchair to sit in the empty space next to Alexis on the couch and found that Jenny and Martha soon drew two armchairs alongside the ends of the sofa so they could join the conversation they were having about whether Lanie should introduce Javi to her parents.<p>

"Hey, Beckett, great dip, by the way," Javi said suddenly, holding up the pot of salsa she had prepared.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Lanie scolded, wagging a finger at Esposito before returning to her quiet conversation with the other women.

Barely five minutes had passed before Kate's attention was drawn aside again, this time by Rick calling her from the kitchen.

"Kate…"

Shooting Jenny a small smile, Kate left the couch and tried not to feel too worried by Rick's tone. Luckily, he hadn't called her into the kitchen to tell her that there had been some kind of disaster; rather he wanted to ask her when she wanted to sit down to eat, so he could start putting roasting potatoes and vegetables.

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><p>Rick's cooking went down a storm, of course. Despite his and Kate's worries, everything was perfect by their friends' standards and for their effort cooking, Martha and Alexis shooed them from the kitchen and ordered them to relax while they took care of loading the dishes into the dishwasher.<p>

Once the job was done, however, the group was left with little to do.

"We could always play scrabble," Alexis suggested after Kate asked their guests what they wanted to do.

"That's only a four player game though," Esposito pointed out.

"We could play in teams."

"Or we could do rounds, make it into a bigger competition," Rick said, offering an alternative to Jenny's idea.

With no-one voicing an objection, Rick went to go and dig out the board game since neither Kate, Alexis nor Martha had any idea where he might have left it. While he was gone, Alexis organised the rounds, putting Ryan and Esposito with her dad, then her grandmother with Kate and Jenny, leaving herself with Jim and Lanie. The winner of each game would then play again to determine the overall champion. By the time Rick returned, Espo and Ryan were already seated at the table waiting.

"Come on, Castle, quit dawdling," Esposito complained, though he himself was hardly eager to get the game underway, knowing it was highly unlikely either he or Ryan would be able to beat the novelist.

"So eager for me to beat you, Espo?" Rick asked as he set the box down on the table and lifted the lid off, taking out the board and placing it between the three of them. Ryan helped him take everything out of the box, giving a rack to Javi before taking one for himself. "Okay, everybody take one tile out of the bag," he instructed, holding the pouch open for first Kevin and the Javier to each take a tile. Once they each had a letter concealed within their fists, he delved a hand inside and selected a tile, barely restraining a grin when he saw that he had drawn out an A. "Ryan, what'd you get?"

"L."

"Espo?"

"B," he answered, grinning widely only to scowl as Rick trumped him by revealing his own tile and gaining the first turn. After they all returned the letters to the bag, he closed the ties and shook it just to help randomise his draw before taking seven tiles from the bag and passing it on to Kevin across the table. While the other two took out their own tiles, he scanned his letters in search of the best word he could form. At the beginning of the game, of course, it was never easy to make anything spectacular but he did hold a 'z' in his arsenal. Of course, for maximum impact, it would perhaps be better to leave that until he could place it on a double or triple letter or word score. Taking four of his letters, he placed the word lipase in the centre of the board, earning himself nine points.

Ryan went next, placing the word pier and getting 8 points. The game progressed nicely for five minutes, though a problem soon arose when Kevin created his fourth word, bogger.

"And what the Hell is bogger supposed to mean?"

"It's a rural person," Ryan explained.

"Oh," Espo drawled, realisation dawning on him. "You mean it's Irish slang for 'a rural person.' I thought we lived in the United States of _America_ where we speak _American_."

To save arguing, Ryan took his tiles back off the board, grumbling all the while until he put bogies down instead. It was only a brief piece between the three men, however. Rick rubbed his hands together as he watched Esposito put down his tiles and thanked his lucky stars that the 't' and 'y' down the right hand edge of the board were in the right place for him to unveil his word.

Esposito gaped while Ryan groaned, the both of them watching his jubilant grin as he placed down first his 'q' and then the 'u', the first of which fell on a triple word score square. The squares each of his pieces landed on, two triple word scores and a double letter score, gave him a total score of 315. Once all his tiles were on the board, he leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, and surveyed his two opponents.

"Beat that, boys."

"Alright, that's it. You're banned from playing, Castle," Esposito exclaimed. "It's not a fair competition with you involved."

"Alright, alright," he conceded. "But you're probably going to want to stop Kate from playing – she's beaten me twice before."

"Beckett, you've been ratted out," Ryan called. "You're banned from the next game."

Chuckling, Kate pulled Rick out of his chair, pinching his arm in punishment for ruining what she had been sure would have been a fun game. The looks on Esposito and Ryan's face were sure to have been priceless even if she wasn't playing against them.

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><p>While Jenny and Martha played their scrabble game, Kate and Rick watched instead, quietly murmuring to each what words they would have made until Sarah Grace woke up from her nap and began crying.<p>

"Sorry," Jenny apologised, already pushing back her chair to go and soothe her child, before Kate stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me?"

"Okay," Jenny replied, sounding a bit uncertain. She shot Ryan a questioning look, but her husband just smiled encouragingly. He'd seen Kate with children at the precinct when they were involved with their cases, and he knew she had a way with them. "There's some milk already bottled in my bag, but she might just need changing."

"Thanks," Kate said quietly, smiling brightly as she crossed the room and kneeled beside the baby girl lying safely on one of Rick's couches. "Hey, Sarah," she crooned, sweeping one finger over the baby girl's soft cheek before picking her up and checking whether her diaper felt damp with one hand once she was safely tucked up against her body. "Well, your diaper's fine, so what is it? You just hungry?" Seating herself back down on the sofa, Kate carefully leaned over the arm of the sofa without dislodging the baby to grab the bottle of milk Jenny had told her about. But when she offered the baby the milk, Sarah Grace turned her head away and seemed to cry even louder. "You just want some cuddles and attention?"

Bringing the baby closer, Kate pressed a kiss to the top of her head before standing again and bouncing Sarah Grace slightly, rubbing her back soothingly. Almost instantaneously, she quietened down, absolutely fascinated with the bounce of Kate's curls. Her tiny hands grabbed hold and tugged at a thick chunk of her hair.

"Let's find you a toy to hold onto instead," Kate suggested, digging around in the shoulder bag of baby items again to come up with a stuffed tiger for the girl.

"She looks good on you, Katie," Jim murmured, startling her as she hadn't realised her father had stopped watching Jenny and Martha's scrabble game to instead observe her with Kevin Ryan's kid. "When are you and Rick going to make me a grandpa?"

A light blush suffused her cheeks, but she was saved from answering by Rick walking by and saying, "Already working on it, Jim." As he passed her father, he clapped him on the shoulder, winking at Kate as her blush deepened and Sarah Grace saw the flourishing colour and put both her hands against Kate's warm cheeks. Chuckling, Jim sat down in one of the chairs to watch his daughter and son-in-law with the three month old baby, the both of them cooing over her and spending more time playing with her toys than the baby herself did, while he waited for Martha and Jenny to finish playing and for his own scrabble game to begin.

* * *

><p>As the evening drew to a close, Jim being proclaimed the ultimate Scrabble champion – a title Rick grudgingly gave him – Sarah Grace was taken home by her parents much to Kate's disappointment. Now that the little girl's colick had gone, she was a joy to be around, smiling toothlessly at anyone and everyone. But, she was a baby in need of her cot after all, so Ryan and Jenny left in the late afternoon, soon followed by Lanie and Esposito.<p>

"How about a movie then?" Rick asked as he returned from seeing Lanie and Esposito out the door. "Planes, Trains and Automobiles is supposed to be on. What do you say, Jim? Want to stay and watch a film with us? You're welcome to the spare bedroom."

Kate looked to her father hopefully. With her usual tradition of taking the Thanksgiving and Christmas shifts at work, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to spend so much time with her dad during the holidays.

"That would be lovely, thank you, Rick," her dad replied, smiling at them both.

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><p><strong>AN: Let me know what you think! **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing! Sorry for the slight delay in getting this out, I'm afraid this story got pushed to the back of my mind for a bit. I'm getting to the point where some of my other projects are winding down, so hopefully I can focus on this one properly again.**

* * *

><p>"Rick?"<p>

There was no answer.

"Rick?" she tried again, almost singing his name as she attempted to coax him into opening his eyes. This time she got a muffled response, a few sounds spoken into the pillow her husband had his face mashed into. Rolling her eyes, she shifted up onto one elbow and tapped Rick's shoulder blade with just a finger. "You awake? No? Okay." She flopped onto her back with a sigh, looking balefully at him out of the corners of her eyes. Once more she checked the digital alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, huffing when she saw that in less than fifteen minutes it would blare to life and probably still her husband would slumber on, oblivious to the fact that they had to get up and get ready for work. On more than one occasion he had snoozed the alarm and incurred Captain Gates' wrath when she was late in to the precinct. It seemed to be happening with alarming frequency now that she spent all her nights with him. Back before they were married, before she'd moved in, she could rely on always having her own alarm set on her cell phone – one that he couldn't change or snooze or do anything else to. But now she didn't have that opportunity.

Still, there was more than one way to get him to wake up – one way in particular though, she knew from experience would have him _wide awake_ in record time.

Nudging him, Kate carefully rolled Rick onto his back before straddling him so that she was atop him when she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his brow, a soft, fleeting thing swiftly followed by another this time placed under his right eye. Behind the shroud of her hair, his nose twitched, an errant strand drifting over his nose and cheek as she moved. By the time she reached his mouth, her tongue poking out this time to test the seam of his lips his eyes were open, focusing on her finally.

He grinned and, as soon as she drew back a few inches, murmured a good morning. "What a way to wake up." Hands drifting up and down her arms, Rick pulled Kate back down into another kiss, opening his mouth and meeting her tongue with little care for morning breath. Pretty soon, what Kate had started with innocent kisses, turned into a stoked fire in the pit of her belly. And she wasn't the only one affected. Beneath her, Kate could feel that other parts of Richard Castle were definitely awake.

"What's the time?" he mumbled against her lips.

"Forty minutes until we need to be leaving," she replied, already a little breathless as she tugged at his black t-shirt and got it over his head before pressing small kisses down his torso.

"Definitely got time."

She raised her arms above her head, aiding him as his hands disappeared under the hem of her camisole to push it up her sides and pull it off.

* * *

><p>She hummed as one of his hands ghosted up her spine from her waist and tangled in her hair, smoothing and taming her curls. In response, she ran her own hand up to his jaw and scratched her nails lightly against his morning stubble, grinning as she shifted to ease her legs straight alongside his. Eyes fluttering open, she rested her chin on the arm she had left across his torso and gazed longingly down at him.<p>

"Hi."

She chuckled, shaking her head at him and partially hiding her beam behind her moving hair. He had no doubt that her eyes were probably rolling too as they often did in response to his antics.

"You love my little quirks really," he told her, sounding incredibly self-assured. "You married me after all."

"That I did. Only for the money, mind." As he shot her a sarcastic look, she patted his chest with as much patronising mockery, if not more.

"Well, even if it is just for the money, I'm glad you still want me around," Rick said eventually, tightening his arm around her waist. Kate gently kissed the skin above his heart before placing her head over it so her ear was pressed to him, able to hear the drum of his pulse.

Something red and flashing coughing Kate's eye. The time!

"Shit! Shower," Kate blurted, lurching up and away from her husband's bare, sweaty chest. "We need to shower."

Her legs were unsteady beneath her as she dashed into the en suite, only to have to turn back and poke her head back into the bedroom when she realised Rick wasn't following her. "Castle!" she exclaimed, pulling him from his post-coital daze.

"Yep, coming!"

While he slid from the sheets and stumbled towards her, Kate kick-started the shower and stepped under the spray, simply leaving the door open for him. His hands grabbed at her hips as he joined her, but she squirmed away, slapping at his hands and briskly telling him they didn't have time for a second round before turning away from his disappointed pout and picking up her shampoo.

* * *

><p>Quickening his pace, Rick got there just in time to pull out Kate's chair for her, taking her coat and arranging it carefully over the high back before she sat down.<p>

"Thanks."

"Coffee?" he asked, leaving his own jacket over the arm of his chair.

She nodded distractedly, already burying herself in the pile of paperwork that had somehow managed to build up since their Thanksgiving get together a week ago. She sighed, as she flipped open the first file, which she needed to put her case report into, along with documentation of the various search and arrest warrants they'd acquired over the course of the investigation. Already bored out of her skull, Kate turned her attention to the computer and ducked beneath the desk for a moment to thumb the power button. As she waited for the system to boot so she could login, Kate glanced instead towards the breakroom, where Castle was expertly creating her latte at the espresso machine, and wondered.

She didn't exactly notice him exiting the room with two mugs, didn't even really see him place one of them down in front of her before gingerly easing into his chair lest he spill hot coffee into his lap or over her desk. Her eyes just tracked his movements unseeing, an action not missed by Rick.

He frowned and sipped at his coffee, watching her for a moment before asking, "Everything okay?"

She startled, locking eyes with him. "You think we did it?"

"Did what?" he replied, quite clearly perplexed as he looked around the room in confusion before jerking as his wife's foot collided rather forcefully with his shin under the table. He shot her a questioning look as his glare subsided.

"Got pregnant," she muttered through barely open lips.

"We'll find out soon enough, won't we?" He couldn't help the confident grin settling into place on his face, even though it was scientifically impossible to know whether he had successfully conceived a child with his wife.

Ignoring the niggling doubt in the back of her mind, Kate smiled back at him, allowing his attitude – or rather his ego over his virility – to convince her before finally concentrating on the paperwork for the last two cases they'd closed, and the third they'd been forced to cold file. In addition to the manila folders for each of those, she also had a stack of files, all of them unsolved murders, from the archives deposited by the Captain in the unlikely event that the day passed without a new case.

It was wrong to wish that a body would drop, but she did anyway. At least, unlike Castle, she had qualms over that fact.

Luckily – or unluckily, depending on which way you looked at it – her cell phone rang just as she finished her case notes for the murder of Cole Kingston. She still had to put all the paperwork together, but that could easily be done at the end of the day since it would take hardly no time at all. She knew it was a body just from the number that flashed up as dispatch.

* * *

><p>"What do we have, Lanie?"<p>

"Female, early thirties – no ID on her – looks like strangulation is cause of death," the Medical Examiner answered, without looking up at Kate's approach or pausing in her thorough inspection of the body. "There's something else…"

"Yeah?" Kate asked, squatting beside Lanie in front of the blue couch their victim was laid out on as she pulled a pair of latex gloves on in case her friend wanted to pass her evidence.

"The murder weapon… it looks like," Lanie paused, wincing before pushing the rest of the words out in one go, "well, it looks a lot like the type of rope Jerry Tyson used…" She didn't look up from the body, already able to detect Kate's scepticism as well as if she'd made some audible tutting noise of disbelief. "I'm going to have to check carefully for fibres once I get her on the slab."

Kate just nodded, trusting Lanie to do her job thoroughly. It was foolish to think for even a second that 3XK was back – the man had been shot multiple times before falling off a bridge. If he hadn't been dead before he hit the water, he would have surely drowned. Despite Rick's insistence that Tyson had planned the whole thing so that they thought he was dead, she knew from experience that nobody could survive that many bullets to the chest. Even if Castle had missed the major organs and arteries, she didn't need to medical training to know the blood loss would have still been substantial enough to have caused Jerry Tyson to fall unconscious and drown in the Hudson.

She could feel Rick's eyes upon her though as she wandered around the apartment, checking the window herself for signs of forced entry and finding none. She knew what he was thinking, was merely waiting for him to speak up and lend voice once again to his suspicion.

"Who's the apartment listed to?" she asked, directing the question to Ryan and Esposito, both of whom had been oddly silent. Internally she scoffed, guessing that they had bought into this ridiculous 'return of Jerry Tyson' theory too.

"Paul Wilson," Ryan answered slowly, his attention drawn to the body he was staring at with a deep-set frown.

"So not our vic, then," Beckett muttered, her own brow furrowing as she tried to think of a way to identify the blonde woman apparently lying on the couch of a 2nd floor apartment that didn't belong to her. "I don't suppose you've found a purse or bag that could be hers?"

Espo shook his head.

"Any indication at all that she lives here? Clothes that could be hers in the closet?"

"Nothing."

"Okay," she sighed, having expecting that very answer. "Let's just hope her fingerprints are in the system or we can ID her by dental records. We can check missing persons reports, but looking at her, I don't think we'll find her in the files."

Esposito and Ryan both shook their heads in agreement – well dressed women like their victim, people who owned and wore pearls, didn't usually crop up in the reports of missing persons cases, particularly those that had gone unsolved. More likely, the easiest way to identify her would be through Paul Wilson, who presumably knew the victim if he hadn't killed her.

"Castle and I will go back to the precinct and make a head start on the missing persons. You guys want to try to track down Wilson?"

"Sure, you got it," Ryan murmured.

"Okay, come on then, Castle."

She lead the way out of the apartment without looking back to check he was following her; he was at her side as she waited for the elevator to arrive though. And of course, as she had guessed, the second they were safely inside the mechanism and heading back down to the street, he spoke.

"It's him, Kate. It's 3XK. I know it is."

She shook her head. "He's dead, Rick. Tyson's dead. You shot him yourself."

He vehemently refuted that, however, grabbing her arms to turn her to face him. "He wants you to think that, Kate. Didn't you see the crime scene? She was blonde. She was strangled with rope and you heard Lanie! She said it matches the type he used before-"

"-And Lanie also said that she would need to do further examination back at the lab!" Kate pointed out. "When she gets a chance to look under a microscope or finds fibres, she's probably going to find that it only looks like Tyson's rope!"

Rick acted as if she had never spoken. "She was position on the couch just like she was sleeping, Kate. It was exactly like the 3XK killing crime scenes! How can you not see that?"

"Just because it looks like a 3XK crime scene, doesn't mean it is one. Copycat killings happen all the time, Rick."

Her husband laughed humourlessly, turning away from her and refusing to acknowledge her concerned gaze.

Gentling her tone, Kate continued, "I'm not going to lead this investigation from the angle that Jerry Tyson has come back from the dead. Do you know what would happen if I told Gates that we think Tyson is behind this? Do you?" There was no answer from him. "I'd be laughed out of her office, Rick. I _have_ to treat this like any other murder."

"Whatever," he replied, clearly not satisfied with her reaction to his fears.

* * *

><p>He sat in silence in his chair, never moving while they flicked through the missing persons reports. He was literally a foot away but she felt more like there was a whole building of space between them, he was so distant. And the more time passed, the more the resolute training of his eyes on each file he picked up began to frustrate her.<p>

How had the day gone so wrong? They'd woken so happily, making love and trying to create life and now they were having their first fight since the wedding.

The atmosphere between them soon spread through the bull pen so that not only were they scowling at the files and not speaking, but so were Esposito and Ryan when they returned with having had no luck finding Paul Wilson.

It took over an hour but eventually the four of them had worked their way through the entire archive of missing persons cases without identifying the blonde woman who had been found dead in Paul Wilson's apartment by the window cleaner. With nothing else to do, Kate stared at the almost blank murder board before grabbing the picture and paperwork Javi and Kevin had been given by the apartment landlord and sticking them under the title suspects. Paul Wilson was the first lead they would follow up, a suspicion that had developed when the neighbours had reported during the canvass of the building that Mr Wilson had gone out late the previous evening and never returned.

Heading into the breakroom, Kate made her own coffee, remembering the last time she and Castle had fought like this back when she'd got the DC job offer and not told him. That time, the blame had certainly lain at her feet – his too since he had started to tiptoe around her for fear of sending her running to the hills if he was too vocal about how he wanted their relationship to progress. This time though, the only person she could blame was a dead man. Tyson was dead and still he was messing up their relationship.

After taking one sip of the coffee, the disgusting mixture was drained down the sink. How could she forget milk?

Striding out of the room, Kate grabbed Rick by the arm and towed him to the past the elevator to the quiet stairwell. He struggled some, more out of confusion than anything else, but she didn't care as long as they stopped fighting. She couldn't bear the fighting. Even when they were just friends, fighting with Richard Castle always exhausted her, left her miserable. It was worse now. Fighting with him now was a lonely, soul sucking business.

"We need to talk," she said, not giving him a chance to speak before she exclaimed, "We have to stop letting him rule out lives, Castle. Even _if _Tyson isn't dead, we can't let him dictate our lives and our happiness. We're fighting _over Tyson_. I don't know about you, but I don't want that. I'd rather fight about whose turn it is to do the dishes or what we should have for dinner, something inconsequential, something that we don't actually care about, something we're only pretending to fight about."

"I don't want to fight either," he muttered, skimming his foot over the floor. "But he _is _back, Kate. I _know_ he is."

"Okay," she replied, surprising him both with her acceptance of his conviction and the hand that slid into his own and squeezed his fingers. "Then we need to stop fighting each other so we can fight _him._"

* * *

><p>The difference when Kate and Rick walked back into the bullpen and sat down side by side, perching on the edge of her desk, was palpable. Relief spread through Esposito and Ryan, both of whom hated seeing 'Mom' and 'Dad' fighting.<p>

"So how do we solve the case if we don't know who she is?"

Kate shrugged. "Hopefully Lanie can help us out there."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the phone on her desk began ringing. Sharing a bemused look with her husband, she picked it up, answering, "Beckett," as usual.

"Detective? Sergeant Williams. Got a man down here to see you, says his name is Paul Wilson."

"Send him up," she said after a pause, hanging up after the desk sergeant offered an affirmative. She watched the elevator, waiting for it to arrive, and recognising Paul Wilson the instant he stepped off from the photo she had attached to the suspect list on the murder board. Her eyes were trained on him as he glanced around, head swivelling quickly out of fear and confusion, before he began walking towards the collection of desks. "Mr Wilson?"

"Detective Beckett!" he exclaimed. "I need your help!"

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, little cliffhanger… I'm evil, I know. Anyways, let me know what you think? Is it Tyson? Is it a copycat? **

**Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thanks everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm glad that most of you seem psyched for Tyson's return(?) so I'm intrigued to see what you guys think and whether your opinions change as this case progresses. For some reason, I forgot I'd written this chapter and didn't post it… Sorry about that!**

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><p>"<em>Mr Wilson?"<em>

"_Detective Beckett!" he exclaimed. "I need your help!"_

* * *

><p>The bullpen was silent for a moment, Beckett surprised considering her instinct had been that Paul Wilson had been coming to the precinct to confess to the murder of his girlfriend, everyone else's attention drawn from their paperwork to the out of breath, staggering figure the man presented.<p>

Startling into motion, Kate stepped forward, announcing, "Right this way, Mr Wilson." With one arm she pointed him towards one of the interview rooms, shooting Castle a look to get him following. As soon as she had Paul Wilson seated, she sent Rick out to get the man a coffee – he looked like he needed it. "You want something to eat?"

"They've got candy bars in a vending machine," Castle added helpfully before receiving a glare from Kate that finally sent him out of the room to make Wilson's coffee.

"Mr Wilson? Anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Wilson muttered, sitting on the edge of his seat, glancing around with some sort of combination of desperation and fear that made her worry that her best suspect was mentally unstable.

In the break room, Rick dithered – having no idea what kind of coffee Paul Wilson drank – before brewing an ordinary black coffee and taking the milk from the fridge so that he could add as much as needed. The standard NYPD mug was still hot to the touch, steaming profusely, when he returned to the interview room and set it down on the table. Kate nodded her thanks and allowed Castle to sit beside her while Wilson added milk with shaky hands and took a sip before she started interviewing.

"You said you need help, Mr Wilson?"

He nodded quickly. "He killed Carrie and now he's after me," Paul blurted, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Carrie? Is that the woman we found in your apartment?" Again Wilson nodded. "Carrie was…your girlfriend?"

"Yes, Carrie's my girlfriend."

"Paul, could you give us details about Carrie's family – we need to get in contact with her next of kin-"

"-But you need to help me," Wilson interrupted, lurching out of his seat to anxiously pace the room. "He's after me. He's going to kill me too! I need protection!"

"Paul, you need to calm down," Kate said sternly, rising out of her own chair. "Who's after you? I can't help you, I can't_ protect _you if you don't tell me." Wilson nodded. "So sit back down and start from the beginning," she requested. "Tell me about Carrie."

As Paul spoke, Rick jotted down the main points – name, age, next of kin, that kind of stuff – just in case Kate wanted any of the information for later reference. His wife had a pretty good memory, better certainly than his, but it was impossible for someone to recall everything, right?

"So Carrie didn't live with you?" Wilson shook his head. "What was she doing at your apartment then? And where were you?"

"I was at work," Paul muttered distractedly. "I don't know what she was doing."

"You don't know? Your girlfriend was murdered in _your _apartment and you don't know why she was there?" Kate pressed, finding it odd that Carrie Richards would have had no reason to be in Paul Wilson's apartment when it was the scene of her murder. It seemed more likely that he was trying to cover up his guilt by lying, or was suffering from some sort of delusion. "You didn't call and ask her to come over?"

"No! She called me, said she had some kind of surprise for me – I didn't think it would be coming home from work to find her dead on the couch," Wilson exclaimed. "I don't know how any of this happened, Detective. I was supposed to be safe and now I'm next."

"What do you mean you were supposed to be safe?"

"My name's not really Paul Wilson," he admitted after a moment.

Beside her, Kate could hear Castle's brain whirring, practically yelling out that Paul Wilson was a spy. She knew differently, however. "You're in witness protection." Wilson nodded, confirming her guess and disappointing Rick. "Who'd you testify against?"

"Johnny T."

"The mobster?!" Castle exclaimed. "_The_ Johnny T? As in the Johnny T who has ties to the Mafia? You testified against _him_!"

* * *

><p>"So what are you thinking?" Rick asked as they watched Paul Wilson AKA Jason Reynolds through the two-way mirror. "Still think he could be a suspect?"<p>

"This could all be an elaborate ploy to stop us from investigating him," she pointed out, before conceding, "but for now, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt – it'll be easy enough to check out his alibi anyway, even if it's just to take him off the suspects' list. We can go and speak with Johnny, and I'll put a protective detail on Jason as a precaution."

After setting Esposito to bodyguard duty and watching him safely escort Paul Wilson away, the two of them heading to a hotel for the time being, Kate organised Ryan to update their murder board with the new information they'd received, call Reynolds' office to verify his alibi, and get in touch with Carrie Richards' parents. With those matters taken care of, she and Castle were free to head to _Sing Sing_, though it didn't escape her notice that Rick lagged behind, clearly unenthusiastic about their destination.

The prison held a lot of memories for the both of them. It was the place where Kate had visited Hal Lockwood in during his incarceration and the place Rick feared he would be imprisoned in when Jerry Tyson had framed him but all of that had to be pushed out of their minds the instant they were buzzed through the doors. Still, it was hard to not think about the times Kate had sat opposite the man who had killed Raglan and Montgomery as she was shown into the very same room to wait for Johnny Taylor.

The mobster came in, following one of the guards, and sat opposite them without even a disrespectful or mocking word, as they had expected. When he was finally seated, as comfortably as it was possible to be when his hands were cuffed together as a precaution, he greeted them almost amicably. "Detectives."

"He's not a police office," Kate replied out of reflex, ruining Castle's brief moment of pride and excitement.

"Who is he then?" Johnny T asked, smiling in vague amusement.

"Richard Castle," Rick answered. "I'm a novelist."

"Ah, so this must be your Nikki Heat. We've got some of your books in the library," Johnny explained as he noticed the look of confusion that passed between Detective Beckett and her partner.

"Mr Taylor-"

"-Call me John," interrupted their suspect.

"John," Kate corrected, "Is it okay if I ask you a few questions."

"Sure, I've got nothing to hide. I'm not sure what you think I can help you with though."

"How about you just tell me what you know about Jason Reynolds," she requested, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned back in her chair and surveyed the balding, grey-haired prisoner opposite her.

"Jason? I don't know anything about Jason. I haven't seen or heard anything of him since the trial."

"You expect me to believe that? Jason's the guy who put you in here, John."

"I know and I'm very grateful to him for that-"

"-_Grateful_?" Castle repeated, sounding even more doubtful than Kate had.

Completely unfazed by their disbelief, John continued, "Yes, grateful. If Jason hadn't testified against me, and put me in here, I wouldn't have turned my life around. Believe it or not, but I've seen the error of my ways, Detective."

* * *

><p>"Home then?" Castle asked as they exited the front gate of the prison.<p>

"Home," Kate clarified, linking her fingers through his, seeking comfort in the warmth of his palm even if it was just for the short walk to her car. It was already gone seven o'clock. Ryan was sure to have left the precinct and returned to Jenny and Sarah Grace, but as soon as she'd parked the Dodge in the apartment's garage, she called to check his progress with Jason Reynold's alibi and notifying Carrie's parents of her death.

"Yeah, Jason's boss says he was in the office with a client right up until eight," Ryan replied. "I checked CCTV footage on the street. Jason paid for a cab to take him back to the apartment."

"What time did he get back to the apartment?" Kate asked, holding the phone between her shoulder and ear while she changed into something more comfortable than the smart trousers and shirt she'd worn to work.

"Cab driver dropped him off just before quarter to nine."

"After Lanie's preliminary time of death then… And you're sure he was at work the entire day?"

"As certain as I can be. I trawled through all the CCTV just in case. No sign of him leaving the building before the building closed."

"So, probably innocent then," she muttered, sighing as she left the bedroom and drawing Rick's attention. Still listening to Ryan, she just shook her head at him, silently letting him know she would fill him in later.

"Any luck with Johnny T?"

"No, doesn't seem like he's our guy." The sound of each of the kitchen cupboards opening and closing in turn made her crane her neck to see Castle searching for something. Easing off the elbows she'd been resting on the kitchen counter, she tapped his shoulder and watched him mime out pepper grinder and then retrieved the item from behind the bread bin for him, handing it over and returning to leaning back against the island. "Johnny T runs _Sing Sin_g's library."

"Reformed, huh."

"Yep. Another dead end. Did you get anything from Carrie's parents?"

"Afraid not. Neither her mother or father were aware that Carrie was having any problems. They're divorced and haven't spoken to her for a few weeks, but the last few times they saw her, apparently she seemed fine."

"Guess, I'll have to go back to Jason tomorrow morning. You okay to start digging into Carrie's recent movements?" she asked as the sound of crying flared up in the background of the call.

"Hey, come on, Sarah Grace, just let Daddy get you into a clean diaper-"

"You're busy," Kate said, smiling as she pictured Ryan struggling one-handed with his daughter on a changing table. "I'll let you get on."

"Okay, see you in the morning, Beckett."

"See you, Kevin."

"Ryan okay?" Rick asked, wiping his hands on a towel before picking up a wooden spoon and stirring it through the vegetables he had sautéing.

"I don't think Sarah Grace was happy to be kept waiting for her diaper change," she replied, laughing, as she ducked down to open the oven door and check on the chicken thighs Rick had started cooking the second they'd come in the door.

Chuckling with her, Castle stirred through the vegetables once more before removing them from the open flame atop the stove and turning away to grab two plates from one of the cupboards. "Did Ryan check Jason's alibi?"

"Yeah, looks pretty solid which leaves us right in the middle of nowhere with this case."

Reaching, Castle squeezed Kate's hip in comfort, murmuring into her ear, "Could you get the chicken out?"

While Rick divided the lightly fried vegetables between their two plates, Kate took the tray bearing the chicken legs from the oven and held it out for him to grab the thighs. He sucked his fingertips after burning them slightly handling the food, receiving a reproachful look from his wife for his carelessness. As they ate, conversation naturally returned to the case, it being the matter at the forefront of Kate's mind.

"Maybe Lanie will find something in the autopsy that can help us," he suggested.

"Maybe."

"There is always another angle we could follow," he said quietly after a moment.

* * *

><p>"Relief's here," she joked as she knocked on the door and came face to face with Javi.<p>

"Thanks, Beckett," Esposito muttered, leaving the hotel room for some fresh air and a coffee. He'd kipped on the room's couch for a few hours, but it wasn't the same as getting a full night of sleep on a proper bed. His back was killing him, and it took more effort than it should to keep his eyes open.

"Detective Beckett," Jason greeted. "Is it safe for me now?"

"I'm not sure how to tell you this, Jason," Kate said quietly. "We went and spoke to Johnny T. He's still at _Sing Sing Correctional Facility _serving his sentence. According to the staff there, he's a reformed man – the perfect example of a model citizen. He hasn't had contact with anyone outside the prison for two years. I even checked with a contact who works gangs, and he says Johnny's totally off the scene – nobody works for him anymore."

"What? That doesn't make any sense."

"Jason, did Carrie have any problems? Can you think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt her?" Kate asked, wondering if Jason had been wrong in assuming Carrie's murder was about him.

"No, everybody loved Carrie," he stressed, unwilling to be swayed into thinking his girlfriend had been targeted.

"She hadn't had any fights recently?"

"Carrie in a fight?! She wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Nodding, Kate glanced at Rick, who returned an encouraging nod, knowing that asking the next few questions felt like she was stooping low. In his opinion, it was better to be open and accepting of the possibility that it could still be their old nemesis behind this. The lack of evidence or leads to go on, along with dead-end clues, was certainly something they had come to expect whenever Jerry Tyson was involved.

"Jason, have you heard of a man called Jerry Tyson?"

"Jerry Tyson? Wasn't he the Triple Killer?"

Kate didn't answer his questions, just repeated her own. "Have you heard of him? Or met him?"

"No, I've just read the newspaper reports. Why? Do you think he did this?"

Sighing, Kate admitted, "There are some similarities between the 3XK murders and Carrie's death."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry again for forgetting to upload this chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Okay, sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. Again. It wasn't exactly a planned break from fanfiction, but I'm back regardless. Thank you everyone who is continuing to read this story. You guys amaze me. Thanks also to those of you who have reviewed!**

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><p>Jason was silent in the back of her Charger as they drove back through the maze of streets to return to the precinct. Even Castle was quiet, occasionally flicking a glance her way as if there was something he wanted to say only to purse his lips and then return to leaning to the side of the car where he could get a glimpse of how much traffic was idle in front of them.<p>

"Is it safe for me to leave the hotel?"

Surprised, Kate lifted her eyes to look at Jason via the rear-view mirror.

"If I thought that there was even the slightest chance that Johnny T was behind this, Jason-"

"-Jason, Beckett's the best at what she does," Castle interrupted, maintaining a steady gaze on his wife rather than twist to look into the back. "She wouldn't ever knowingly put your life at risk." Kate shot him a grateful smile in the few seconds she could afford to look away from the street as traffic began moving again.

"So what happens now then?"

It was easy to detect Jason's fear guiding his questions, so Kate kept her response as simple and reassuring as she could. "We're just going back to the precinct so we can show you a few pictures."

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><p>"Okay," Kate said as she breezed into the interview room with the relevant case file. Opening the file, she proceeded to lay out its contents on the table, placing each photograph so that Jason could easily see the faces. "Do you know any of these people? Do any of them look familiar? Just take your time, Jason."<p>

On the table top was a picture of every 3XK victim they knew about, including mugshots of Marcus Gates and Paul McCardle.

"Did Carrie know any of these people?"

"I don't think so," Jason answered hesitantly. None of the blonde women staring back at him looked like his girlfriend's colleagues or friends, but it was hard to be completely sure. And he didn't think he'd ever seen either of the two men whose pictures were on the table. "You should talk to her office though – they might have seen one of these people there."

Kate nodded, but at that moment in time it wasn't likely she would follow his suggestion. They had no evidence other than the staging of the crime scene that indicated the involvement of Jerry Tyson. And they were still waiting on Lanie's autopsy results to know for sure if the rope used to strangle Carrie was indeed the same types used in the Triple Killer murders. Showing Jason the pictures was supposed to reassure Castle. If the task doubled up as checking for a connection between their victim and the previous murders, so be it.

"What about this photo?" Beckett asked, pulling the only remaining mugshot from the folder to show Jason.

"That's him, isn't it? 3XK? I recognise him from the news."

Kate nodded. "You haven't ever seen him outside yours or Carrie's apartments?" Jason shook his head. "Have you had any workmen in either building recently? Cable guys, plumbers, anyone like that?"

"I don't think so, but I'm not at the building most of the day. I leave at half five every morning and I was only ever at Carrie's building late evening, so if there were any workers in her building or mine, I would probably have missed them."

"Do the buildings have logs for visitors?" Castle asked.

"Carrie's does, but mine doesn't."

Kate sighed. If Jason's apartment building had had a sign-in sheet, they could have maybe found their murderer that way.

"Okay, I think that's it for now-" No soon had she spoken than her cell phone began to trill, vibrating in her pocket. Pulling it out, Kate read the number for the ME's office. "Sorry, I just need to take this. Castle, could you take Jason to the breakroom for now?" As soon as they were gone, she answered. "Lanie?"

"_I've got the autopsy report. You wanna come down to see me?_"

"Sure, give twenty minutes," Kate replied, checking her watch as she hung up before stepping into the adjoining observation room where she knew Ryan and Esposito were probably waiting.

"Lanie finished the autopsy?" Espo asked.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna head down to see her. You two okay to go get a copy of that visitors' log from Carrie's building?"

"You got it."

"Thanks, guys."

Before leaving, Kate dropped in on Castle to tell him where she was going and ask, maybe fluttering her eye lashes once or twice, if he could just babysit Jason for a while. Once he'd grudgingly agreed, receiving a quick press of her lips to his in thanks, she was on her way, rhythmically tapping her fingers against her thigh as she stood in the elevator and waited for it to take her down to the underground car par.

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><p>"So what have you got for me, Lanie? Please tell me, you found evidence that refutes Castle 3XK theory."<p>

"Sorry, no can do, girl. I spent four hours analysing the ligature marks on her neck and the fibres I pulled from the body. She was strangled with a three-strand twisted quarter inch rope. It was green and white-"

"-Nylon?"

Lanie nodded apologetically. "Sorry, Kate, it looks like Tyson really is your killer."

"Could still be a copycat," she argued.

"None of these details were ever released to the public, were they?" It was a question that Lanie already knew the answer to, a question she only asked to make a point.

"So maybe he told someone – like he did with Marcus Gates," Kate suggested. She knew from experience that psychopaths like Tyson enjoyed telling people about their violent acts, that reliving the experience brought them almost as much gratification as committing the crimes themselves did.

Lanie raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but kept silent.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about the murder?"

"Time of death was three pm. Other than the rope fibres and the tiniest traces of denim under her fingernails, there's no other evidence."

"The denim under her fingernails-"

"-Probably from struggling with the killer," Lanie replied, nodding as she finished Kate's sentence. "Unfortunately, there's nothing unusual about it. It's a standard blend of cotton and elastic. I've been working with lab technicians to recreate the murder. Our current theory is that our guy pinned Carrie down with his legs while he strangled her on the couch, explaining these slight impressions on her arms."

Kate nodded, examining the marks on Carrie's biceps for herself. There was definitely an indent that could only have been formed by the inner seam of a pair of jeans.

"Two of the lab technicians have been programming the scene into a computer to see if we can get any more details about the murder – height, how much force he'd have needed to be able to strangle Carrie like that-"

"-It's definitely a man?"

"We don't have the evidence yet," Lanie conceded, "but most likely."

* * *

><p>"Hey, sorry I was gone so long – traffic jam on Park."<p>

"Don't worry about it," Castle replied, waving her off and squeezing her hand to draw her attention again. "Coffee?"

"Please." Shooting him a smile, Kate shrugged off her coat, leaving the tan wool hanging over her chair before following him into the breakroom, where she was surprised to see Jason still sitting on one of the sofas. The fact that she'd forgotten she'd left him with her husband made her feel guilty.

"So what did Lanie say?"

"Hmm?" Blinking away her distracted gaze, she twisted to face Castle, watching him expertly froth the milk for her latte.

"What did Lanie say?"

"Oh," Kate said, glancing at Jason before telling him, "I'll tell you later." Receiving her coffee, Kate took a grateful sip, trying to keep her moan of pleasure to herself. Judging from the smirk on her husband's face, however, she wasn't exactly successful. "I'm just gonna go and update the murder board. Have the boys come back yet?"

"Nope," he said, walking out of the room behind her. He sat in his chair beside her desk while she wrote the definitive time of death and the other information Lanie had given her on the whiteboard, drawing a timeline along the bottom. So far they only had a few events on it – Carrie's text to Jason, her death, the first discovery of the body when Jason got in from work and the second discovery the next morning when one of the neighbours saw the open door. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start.

"Green and white nylon-"

"-Castle, I know what you're thinking-"

"Yo," Espo called as he stepped off the elevator, interrupting what Beckett was about to say. "Got that list from Carrie's building, as well as CCTV footage from a corner shop across the street."

"I thought we could put a face to every name and then check CCTV around Jason's building to see if any of them crop up."

"Good idea," Kate told Ryan, accepting the logbook the Irish detective was offering her. Her quick glance down the list of names from the previous week didn't put up any red flags. Handing it back she asked, "Get Tori to help?"

Ryan nodded, taking the two video tapes and the book he'd returned with to the tech girl. He was shut in the room beside the breakroom, printing out pictures of each person who stopped off at the apartment building, then checking the timestamps to find a name for each of the faces.

Out in the bullpen, Kate was doing what she was best at – building theory with Castle, while Esposito went through a copy of the list of names in the logbook with Jason.

"Kate, the green and white rope-"

"- I know," she murmured. "But she wasn't killed in her own apartment. Whoever killed her _knew _she was going to be at Jason's apartment."

"So they followed her?"

"Or she told them where she was going. If she was followed, it should be on the CCTV footage that Ryan's been collating. We just have to track whatever route she went to find out."

"But that would suggest she was friends with whoever killed her," Rick argued.

"Maybe she was." Kate shrugged. "Carrie doesn't have any defensive injuries. The only sign that she struggled at all is the denim under her fingernails." Checking her father's watch, she sighed at the time – it was almost five o'clock and they'd yet to make any real traction with the case.

"So why would one of her friends want to kill her?"

"Guess we'll have to speak to some of them tomorrow to find out. Maybe one of them will know what this surprise she had for Jason was. Maybe one of them was involved in the surprise and that's why they needed to kill Carrie."

"That doesn't explain the whole 3XK feel though…"

"Look at it this way, Castle," Kate said, reaching across the table to take his hand, "if Tyson was back, don't you think there'd have been another body by now. His MO was killing three women-"

"-Yeah, in a week," he countered. "It's been three days, he's still got time."

The words had no sooner left his mouth than Kate's cell phone began to ring, the vibrations carrying it across the surface of the desk between them. They both stared, watching its progress for the smallest of moments before Kate reached out and picked it up, swiping her thumb hesitantly to answer the call.

"Beckett?"

"_Body at Amsterdam Avenue for you._"

* * *

><p>Sticking her head around the door, Kate watched Ryan and Tori working, two different streams of video running side by side on the same screen, for a moment before interrupting. "How's it going?"<p>

"We've put faces to names for about a third of the list. The assumption is that people not on the list are residents, but if they're not…" Tori trailed off. She didn't have to tell either Ryan or Beckett that their murderer could escape detection that way.

"Well, keep at it. Have you managed to track Carrie's route from her apartment to Jason's?"

"We've got her on camera leaving her apartment at 1:08 pm," Ryan answered, "and managed to track her as far as the subway on Cathedral but haven't got her coming out on 18th street near Jason's apartment-"

"-Maybe she got off early if she thought someone was following her," Kate suggested but Ryan was already nodding.

"I've already sent out a request to have the footage sent over."

"Tori, do you think you can manage to keep going through this by yourself? We've got another body," she explained, shooting both of the others an apologetic look. Had she not just received that call from dispatch, they would all have likely been able to head home in an hour or two. With a second murder – one that was presumably linked to Carrie Richard's death, if the fact it had been assigned to her was anything to go by – they probably wouldn't leave the precinct before nine o'clock. The scene and any nearby possible witnesses would have to be canvassed immediately, and even if she wasn't stuck there she'd probably still have to stay at the precinct to begin profiling the victim and getting in touch with the next of kin.

Ryan looked to Tori as she replied, "Sure, it's possible I can cut down the time it'll take by running a facial recognition program."

"Great, thanks."

After grabbing Ryan, Beckett sent him on ahead with Esposito to help secure the scene. Before she and Castle could join them, they had to drop Jason somewhere. As his apartment was still a crime scene, he had to check into a hotel, and taking him to the one of his choice was the least they could do after quizzing him all day. Once she promised to keep him informed and up-to-date on the case, they were on their way, pulling up outside a nondescript apartment building behind Lincoln Square which had uniformed officers swarming outside.

"It's on the eighth floor," one of them muttered as she walked forward, briefly flashing her badge at them just in case.

"Thanks."

Taking the elevator up, the two of them were quiet and mindful of the other occupants. But despite that, they were both well aware of what the other wanted to say.

The eighth floor was as busy with cops as the street entrance to the building had been, but Beckett ignored them and the neighbours they were talking to, instead walking straight past and through the open door marked with police tape. She and Castle froze in the doorway.

"Happy to call it Tyson's work now?" he asked, staring at the blonde woman lying supine beside the coffee table with her hands folded over her middle.

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><p><strong>AN: So let me know what you thought of the chapter. The story is going to be quite case-centric again for the next few chapters at least, but as before I'll be doing my best to run a few of my storylines side by side. Sorry again for taking forever to write this chapter and put it up and thank you for sticking with me if you're still reading.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Sorry to have gone so long without an update for you guys. I spent a couple of weeks really pushing at another story that I just wanted to finish and have off my plate, and then ended up writing a prompt that, of course, I just **_**had **_**to add more chapters too. (Seriously, I never learn!) I'm pretty busy with university work, but I will try to keep a steady update going on this story and hopefully get back to doing a chapter a week. Also, because it's been quite a while, I can't remember exactly what I was originally going to have happen in this chapter…**

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><p>"<em>Happy to call it Tyson's work now?" he asked, staring at the blonde woman lying supine beside the coffee table with her hands folded over her middle.<em>

"Castle," Kate scolded, unappreciative of his tone. "Let's just get the facts first, okay?"

He stared at her for a moment, but she glared right back just as unwilling to back down.

Finally, he gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head and turned back to the body with his hands in his pockets. The boys scrambled to pretend they hadn'e been watching the scene unfold as she whirled around and directed her attention at the Medical Examiner.

"Lanie?"

"Definitely strangulation. I'm not committing to a time of death right now, but it looks like she could have been here a few days with the level of decomposing that's been going on."

Kate nodded. The stiff, rigour mortis was expected with virtually every body they caught, but the woman lying on the carpet before her was in the first stages of bloating, something that was a little more unusual for them.

"Any ID?" she requested, eyes lifting to first Ryan and then Espo.

"Yeah, found her driver's license in her bag on the table. Vic's name is Thea Mathison, 25 years old," Ryan answered, reading allowed through the ziplock bag he'd placed the contents of Thea's purse in. "The neighbours say she was in med school."

"Right, do any of them know anything about her murder?"

"We've asked around but nobody recalls Thea acting differently or hearing anything out of the ordinary recently. The guy in the apartment below found her after taking in some of her mail and trying unsuccessfully to give it to her for three days."

"Could she have been dead that long, Lanie?"

"I already told you I won't be giving you any specifics until I've got her back to the morgue," Lanie admonished. As she spoke, Lanie jotted down her last few observations onto her paperwork and the signalled over to of the CSU techs to help her get the body into a bag and out of the apartment. "I'll call you as soon as I get anything," she told Kate as she passed, squeezing her arm.

"Thanks," Kate replied, attempting a smile for her best friend. It was difficult when she could feel Castle brooding in silence at her side, however. Turning to the boys, she said, "Well, if uniforms are canvassing the neighbours, we might as well head back to the precinct. There's nothing else for us to do here. Ryan, can you pick guys pick up CCTV on the way out?"

"Sure."

Nodding her thanks, Kate turned to Rick and braced herself. His flat face sent a flare of something dark through her, but she pushed it aside and tried to catch his eyes before leading the way to the door. His footsteps were quiet, barely there, as he followed her back to the elevator, the two of them standing in silence.

He opened his mouth when they were finally alone, but she beat him to it, asking, "C-can we just not do this now?"

"When then?"

"Later," she requested. "When I get home this evening. I just- I just need to be able to do my job today, Castle, and I can't do that if you're going to stand there at my shoulder, glaring and sulking."

He paused, trying to grasp what his wife was telling him. He thought he understood, but it didn't make sense.

"You want me to leave?"

"Just for today," she replied, nodding. "There's nothing for you to do anyway, Castle. You can go home and get some writing done, and then when I get back we can talk about this without anyone watching, without interruptions."

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><p>He felt numb as he slid into the back of a cab. It was like he'd stepped back in time to a point when Kate was still pissed at him over his private investigation of her mother's case, back when he first started following her. She didn't want him with her at the precinct. He tried to be rational, to remember her explanation but he felt as rejected as he had when she lied to him and he thought she didn't return his feelings.<p>

He was barely aware of giving the cab driver his address. He paid on autopilot, probably handing over too much cash, before going into his building and up to the top floor.

"Hey Dad," Alexis said, surprising him. "You…okay?"

He threw on a bright smile and replied with as much enthusiasm as he could. "Yeah, fine. What brings you back from your dorm?"

"Oh, just wanted to drop off some books I don't need any more, and steal your ice cream, of course." She winked at him and held up the tub of Ben and Jerry's she'd apparently pilfered from his freezer. "Kate having a paperwork day?"

"Yeah, it was just a boring day so I came back to write," he lied. "Enough ice cream left for your old man?"

Alexis peered inside the tub before tilting it to show him the quarter that was left inside. Keeping her spoon, she handed over the ice cream and watched as he grabbed a fresh spoon for himself and pulled out enough Ben and Jerry's to give any normal person a brain freeze. In two mouthfuls, the ice cream was gone and he rinsed the carton under a cold tap before throwing it into the recycling bin.

"Right, I'm gonna go write," he announced, keeping his smile in place until he was in the confines of his office where it didn't matter if he was miserable.

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><p>At the precinct, Kate pulled a second murder board up alongside the one bearing the details of Carrie Richards' murder and began adding what they knew about Thea Mathison to the empty whiteboard. Rather than stare at the meagre amount of information they had, she settled at her computer and pulled up digital copies of all of the files on Jerry Tyson.<p>

Ryan was hidden away in the tech room with Tori once more, continuing to work through CCTV feed in search of someone following Carrie to Jason's apartment, while Esposito worked to get in contact with Thea Mathison's parents and fiancé so an initial interview could begin. Ruling out any potential enemies would be useful until they had forensic evidence linking she and Carrie to the same murderer.

Somehow she missed her lunch break while combing through the 3XK files, searching for anything that either hinted at him having an apprentice of sorts or linked him to her two victims. Had Castle been there, he'd have dragged her away from her computer and insisted on taking her out for fresh air and some real food. As it was the boys silently left a fresh sub on the corner of her desk, but she was so zonked out that she didn't even notice it until her stomach's rumbles grew loud enough to draw her attention.

She ate while reading, going over and over information she probably knew by heart anyway, waiting for new information. The empty box sat on her usually tidy desk, along with a half full cup of cold coffee. Nothing got through to her as she read through the files of every murder attributed to the Triple Killer.

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><p>When he emerged from his office, having written nothing, of course, in the five hours he'd spent in front of his laptop, Alexis was gone. It perplexed him that she hadn't come to say goodbye, leaving him to wonder if she perhaps had but he'd been too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear her.<p>

Hungry, he whipped up a quick omelette filled with a cheesy, sausage and ratatouille combination that took slightly longer to create. The distraction was good for him anyway, even if the food was kind of tasteless as he ate, staring at the clock slowly ticking towards seven, wondering where his wife was.

He washed his dishes by hand, checking the digital read out of the time on the microwave, before dismissing his worries by telling himself a hot, new lead had probably just come in and Kate wanted to follow it before the trail got cold.

By nine o'clock, he couldn't quite believe it anymore though. Still, he sat on the couch waiting. She'd said she'd be home and he trusted her.

Somehow it got to half eleven and he could no longer tell himself she was on her way. He grabbed his things in a hurry, pulling his trainers on even as he opened the door.

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><p>The precinct was quiet, almost empty even. He didn't think there was a time when he'd ever been there that late. The cop on duty at the front desk recognised him though, letting him past without a single question.<p>

His heart was in his throat right up until he rushed out of the elevator and caught sight of her familiar chestnut curls sprawled out over the top of her desk. She was just asleep, he realised with relief as he approached her slumped over figure, watching the slow rise and fall of her back with each measured breath.

Crouching beside her, he ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her face with care before stroking a single finger down the slope of her nose and over her lips, waking her gently. Her eyebrows still knitted together however as she cracked open her eyes.

"Castle? Time's it?"

"12:14," he replied, checking his watch. "You fell asleep at the precinct," he explained as she straightened and looked around in confusion, clearly still foggy with sleep.

Thinking back, she vaguely recalled the boys telling her they were going to head home for the night, their judging looks clearly suggesting she quit for the evening too, but she had one last file to get through so she'd mumbled something about leaving as soon as she was done. Apparently she fell asleep before that though.

She mumbled an apology, remembering that she had told him she'd be home to discuss the whole Tyson thing again.

"S'okay," he muttered, before she cut him off.

"No, Castle it's not. I said I'd be home and I got carried away with looking for links between Tyson and our two victims. We're starting a family – I should be home with you. It won't happen again."

He smiled softly. Hearing her talk about their family, even if it was kind of non-existent at that point in time, seemed to do funny things to him. "Did you find anything?" he asked, unable to completely turn off his hopeful tone.

Kate ran a hand through her hair before replying, "Nothing. I read every report, every line of every file, and there was no mention of either Carrie or Thea as witnesses or friends of the other victims, nothing. I can't even find a link between Carrie and Thea."

Squeezing her hand, he spoke reassuringly. "You will. You'll figure it out, Kate. You always do." After one more squeeze of his fingers around hers, he stood and began clearing the rubbish from her desk, gathering her phone and the few other things she'd bring home. "Come on, you look like you're gonna need a coffee to stay awake."

While he stepped into the dark breakroom, flipping on the light switch before he started up the espresso machine, Kate slid open her drawer and pulled out her badge and holstered gun, securing them on her belt just in case. In the academy they all heard the stories about cops who got attacked on the way back from work when they were winding down and coming off alert – Heck, Rick always seemed to have scenes where Nikki was caught in gun battles when she was technically off the job.

"Here," Rick said, pressing a warm, metal travel mug into her hands. "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

><p>He ushered into the kitchen before anything else, pushing her into a seat and watching her eat the quick sandwich he'd rustled up. Only when the whole thing was gone did he follow her into the bedroom and get changed for bed, the two of them working in unison until they were stood side by side in the bathroom brushing their teeth.<p>

Wired from caffeine, Kate lay awake in his embrace for a few minutes before she felt his breathing pattern on the back of her neck change.

"Kate, you should be sleeping," he mumbled, tightening his arm around her waist to pull her more securely into his chest.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking."

"About?"

It wasn't easy under the weight of Castle's arm, but she twisted to face him somehow, meeting his eyes as she answered, "Our family."

He grinned, the skin around his eyes crinkling with his happiness.

"Yeah?"

She hummed, pushing her own arm under her head so she could level her gaze with his. "What do you think they'll look like?"

"They?" he quizzed, quirking a single eyebrow at her.

She elbowed him at that. He _knew _what she was talking about, he just wanted her to say it. Acquiescing, she clarified, "Our kids. What do you think they'll look like?"

"Just to be clear," he said, pushing himself up on one elbow. "There's definitely going to be a 'they'? We're talking multiple Castle babies?" Kate rolled her eyes, pushing him square in the chest with one palm to send him rolling away from her before his balance evened out and he came right back, nudging his nose against hers before responding to her question. "Just like you, hopefully. Big, green eyes… curly hair, noses that crinkle when they're annoyed at us."

"What about your eyes?"

"You think you can say no to a baby boy with these eyes? One look in these puppy dog eyes and you'll be saying yes to everything, Kate," he joked.

Shrugging, Kate had to agree that he was probably right. Denying Castle something could be hard enough. She couldn't imagine how much worse it would be with a tenacious child who would have no qualms about tantrums or constant begging.

"You think you can say no to a Beckett girl? We're wild childs, remember."

"Urgh, don't remind me. I'm counting you to help me out there. You're the one with experience in that department. Alexis was practically a saint growing up."

She chuckled, her hot breath falling against his cheek before she burrowed further down under the comforter and rested her head nearer his neck.

"Whatever they're like, they're gonna be pretty great," he finally said, wrapping both his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She nodded her agreement, grazing her lips over his neck a few times until she was lulled to sleep with the rise and fall of his chest against her cheek.

* * *

><p>She was already up, sitting at the breakfast bar with a mug in one hand and, strangely, the newspaper in the other. Ordinarily, he found her looking at something case-related if she was reading in the morning.<p>

"There's still coffee in the carafe," she said as she heard his approaching footsteps, looking up to offer a smile as he rounded the bar and voiced his thanks.

"I didn't hear you get up," he mumbled as he concentrated on pouring black coffee out of the French press before grabbing his favourite flavour of creamer and dosing his beverage.

Kate shrugged. "You were out like a light – didn't even hear me in the shower, right?"

He scrunched his face as he tried to recall waking up, but he was pretty sure he'd slept right through the night after briefly waking up to find Kate still awake. He definitely didn't remember hearing the shower, though it couldn't have been that much earlier that his wife had been in it – her hair was still wet, drying naturally into loose curls down her back and creating a wet patch on her bathrobe.

Setting his coffee down after one sip, he began searching the cupboards and fridge, amassing ingredients for breakfast.

"French toast? We've got bacon?"

"Sure," Kate answered, turning the page over on the newspaper and displaying the headline of the article she'd been reading - the name Thea Mathison staring out at him. Setting it down, she finally broached the topic the both of them had been avoiding. "About yesterday…"

He spun, leaving the egg soaked bread frying over a low heat on the stove.

"I am open to the idea of it being Tyson, you know-"

"-I know," he replied. "But you're right. It could be someone emulating him, or another Marcus Gates." She nodded, pleased that apparently they didn't have as much of an issue with the situation as it originally seemed like they did. "Lanie'll probably finish the autopsy today, right?"

Kate nodded. She was expecting to at least hear _something _from their ME even if Lanie hadn't completed her examination of Thea Mathison's body.

"So maybe there'll be evidence that will tell us what's going on."

* * *

><p>It felt like they'd barely sat down when Kate's cell phone rang, Lanie's picture appearing on the screen.<p>

"Hey Lanie," Kate answered, finding that Castle was already watching her attentively when she turned to him.

"_I've done the autopsy. You free to come down and see me?"_

"Sure, we'll be right there," Kate replied, hanging up and pushing her arms through the sleeves of the aviator jacket she'd literally only just taken off.

"You'd think she could have called while we were on our way here," Castle grouched as he stood and checked his pockets to make sure he still had his phone.

Rolling her eyes, Kate patted his shoulder and stepped past him. "You can take it up with Lanie when we see her."

He was still – annoyingly – grumbling about the inconvenience though when they got into her Dodge and she shot him a look that quite clearly said enough was enough.

"Sorry."

While she drove, he fiddled with the heating dial, trying to find get the air conditioning to give out something other than cold air. What was it with police cars? It seemed like there was always a problem – if it wasn't a spring digging into his rear, it was a broken air-con unit. It felt like it had been years since Kate got her brand-spanking new, sleek and shiny, blue Dodge Charger back when it had no problems.

"Castle," she reprimanded when he accidentally turned up the intensity and jet of cold air blasted through the small space inside the car. Hurriedly he thumbed the button back down, holding his free hand up in apology. "It's a fifteen minute journey; can't you keep your hands to yourself for that long?"

He shot her a look at that, his mind clearly going to the gutter.

Muttering, Kate said, "I think I've changed my mind. I don't think I'm gonna be able to cope with having your kids."

"Might be too late," he replied, looking smug and assured of his virility. The expression was still on his face as he followed her into Lanie's autopsy room, quite clearly staring at her – so much so that Lanie raised an eyebrow at him.

Ignoring her caveman of a husband, Kate addressed her best friend. "Anything to link Thea back to Tyson?"

"As we suspected, the strangulation was caused by the same nylon rope from the other Triple Killer murders and that of Carrie Richards," Lanie replied. "I didn't find any fibres under her fingernails this time, but I found something else during the fluorescent spectroscopy." Grabbing a handheld UV light, Lanie held the device over Thea Mathison's ear, jaw and neck, revealing the dispersed marks she'd recorded earlier. "It's saliva," she told them. "Unfortunately, there's not enough there to be able to collect DNA. From the pattern, I'd say he was standing behind her, talking in her ear, perhaps while he strangled her."

"Her heel was broken, wasn't it?" Rick asked, receiving nods from both women.

"You think that's how it happened? He strangled her standing up and she-"

"-broke her heel while fighting him? Maybe," Castle answered, finishing Kate's sentence.

"Seriously, do you two share one mind?"

Ignoring Lanie's oft asked question, Kate posed one of her own. "Did you get a time of death?"

This time Lanie nodded and grabbed her completed file of notes, a copy of which she would email through to Kate once they were done speaking. "I'm confident to place the time of death at around seven thirty on Tuesday evening."

"The day before Carrie," Rick mumbled. "Could there already be another body we don't know about?"

"All I'm willing to say is that Thea Mathison was definitely killed by the same person as Carrie Richards."

With a pained expression, Kate said, "Unless we _do _get a third victim, this technically isn't even a serial we're after."

* * *

><p>"Okay, so we're definitely looking for the same guy. But why Carrie? And why Thea?"<p>

Esposito spoke up, leaning back in his chair as he detailed the results of his discussion with Thea Mathison's parents and fiancé the previous afternoon. "Just like Carrie, Thea didn't have any enemies or problems. I had uniforms escort her fiancé around her apartment and he doesn't think anything's missing. There's no obvious motive here."

"But he picked these two for a reason…" she muttered, tapping the end of her red board pen against her lip as she thought, willing Castle not to say 'Because they're blonde.' "We find that reason, we find how he found these two women, how they're connected, and we find him…"

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, apologies again for not updating for ages. Let me know what you think?**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry this is so late again. I'm having a hectic term at university – So. Many. Deadlines. I would probably have had this up last weekend, but our internet went down for four days and then I had university work to get on with and this had to be postponed until today. I've got two days a week set aside for writing, so fingers crossed that'll be enough to get this story updated every week.**

* * *

><p>Heading home Saturday night, Kate pulled over outside one of their favourite takeout places so Castle could hop out and grab dinner. After the last few days and the odd late night, neither of them could be bothered with fixing something from whatever groceries they had left in the fridge.<p>

The smell of melted cheese filling her car on the remainder of the journey had her mouth watering and her stomach grumbling, an incident that made Castle smother a snort every time it occurred.

"I haven't eaten in six hours," she reminded him, thinking of the cronut she'd been able to snatch from another detective's pastry run just after lunch. "I was busy working my way through Carrie's credit card transactions to track her movements over the last month while you went to pick up sandwiches and dropped mine in the reception."

"Still, so not my fault," he muttered, ignoring his wife's typical eye roll. "_Velasquez_ bumped into _me_." He'd been moaning about the coffee the female uniform had spilled over during their collision ever since it happened, fussily rubbing at the dried stain down his shirt too, and never changing his assertion that he had been watching where he was going. "Give you all the pepperoni?" he suggested as a minor peace offering. "Deal?"

"Deal," she agreed, keeping her complaints about his sniggering silent when her stomach continued to protest its emptiness.

When he exited the car in the parking garage however, his light mood was gone; replaced by something cautious and wary that she didn't understand until they were in the Loft and he hurried around checking the lampshades and windows, concentrating largely on the bedroom.

"He wouldn't put them the same place twice, Castle," she called, taking it upon herself to open the pizza boxes he'd abandoned and plate up a few slices each.

"What?"

His head appeared in the office doorway.

"The bugs. Tyson wouldn't put them in the same places as he did last time."

He paused for a moment, standing station in the doorway, before agreeing and stepping out into the open living room and accepting his plate from her.

"You think he could be doing surveillance on us again?" he asked, sounding panicked by the idea of their privacy and space being invaded with cameras and listening devices like they were when Jerry Tyson tried to set him up.

"I don't know, Castle." She sighed and looked at his unnerved face a moment longer before promising, "I'll check the place over once we've eaten."

* * *

><p>The break came the next day when Thea Mathison's building super finally responded to their harrying phone calls. They still weren't sure why he hadn't picked up the phone the first five times the previous evening, but when Esposito dialled first thing that morning after Kate's briefing, he was met with a gruff, "Look, I'm not interested in donating to your charity, or whatever imaginary vacation I've supposedly won, so just piss off, would ya?"<p>

It took a while, but eventually, they managed to convince Carlos Marzano that they were in fact the NYPD and get on with finding out about who might have had access to the building the night of Thea's murder.

"Okay, and what time was that?" Esposito asked, jotting down the man's answer on a fresh sheet of his pad.

Kate tried not to pay too much attention, but it was hard. Judging from the upward curl of Esposito's lips as he ended the call, they'd learned something useful.

He'd barely replaced the receiver on the handset when she demanded, "Well?"

"Definitely got something worth investigating," Javi replied, nodding as he picked up his pad to read through everything he'd noted down. "As we assumed, the building is closed access – anyone coming in has to be vetted by Marzano. Last Friday Thea reported a problem with the hot water supply, then stayed at a friend's place only returning on Tuesday so she was there when the plumber came."

"Did we get a name on the friend?"

"Afraid not. But Carlos did say that he saw Thea return earlier that day, and sent the guy straight up when he arrived at around seven twenty five pm."

"Right around the time of death window Lanie gave us," Kate muttered, crossing to the murder board to add the information to their timeline. "Did Marzano have a name for this guy?"

Espo shook his head. "Just the company."

"Which is?"

"_Pace Plumbing Corp_."

"Okay, get on the phone with them, find out who they sent and bring him in," she requested, capping her pen again.

"Got it," Espo responded, stepping away to go and find a number for the company Carlos Marzano had hired.

Tapping the end of the marker against her chin, Kate thought for a moment. Before he could get onto the elevator, she called after Esposito.

"Yeah?"

"If you get a chance, can you head back to Carrie's building and check whether there were any workmen there in the last three weeks?"

Nodding, Espo stepped backwards into the elevator car, leaving Kate to get back to the file of financial information they'd received on Carrie. After the previous day's work on the file, she still had November's credit purchases to go through, highlighting each one that reflected places that could be cross-referenced with Thea Mathison's bank records once the warrant for them went through.

Splitting the file in two, she dumped half of it in front of Castle before grabbing a second highlighter for him from the broken-handled cup that acted as a stationary holder.

He opened his mouth, but she jumped in before he could speak. "Technically it's not paperwork."

"It's paper. It's work. It's paperwork," he deadpanned, scooting his chair back and standing. The glare she shot his way had him explaining however. "Just going to make some coffee. Need something to make this less tedious."

Shaking her head, Kate didn't bother making a request for a latte – she knew he'd make her one anyway and probably spend ages making something artful out of the foam just so he could avoid helping her go through all the finances. With her head ducked down, eyes trained on line after line of numerical information, she didn't notice Jenny step off the elevator with Sarah Grace in her arms until the baby girl started crying.

"Oh, hey, Jenny," Kate greeted, setting down her pen for a moment. "You looking for Kev?"

Shushing Sarah Grace, Jenny could only nod so Kate stood and went to retrieve her husband for her.

As she emerged from the tech room with Kevin behind her, she heard him exclaim straight away, "Hey, baby girl, what's the matter, huh?" She left the couple to their privacy though, and returned to her desk.

It became clear after a few moments re-reading the same charge that her thoughts were otherwise occupied, picturing Castle stepping off the elevator with a small bundle in his arms and maybe a rambunctious toddler charging forwards and narrowly missing the corner of her desk before throwing a pair of tiny arms around her legs.

"Kate?" The familiar hand on her shoulder broke her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Your coffee," Castle prompted, pointing out the steaming mug he'd set before her while she was still imagining picking up that curly-haired toddler and tickling him senseless.

"Oh, thanks." Picking it up, Kate cradled the warm ceramic in her hands for a few moments, inhaling the familiar scent of Castle's coffee, before taking a sip and swallowing the scalding liquid quickly.

"Why's Jenny here?" he asked, looking at the still-wailing baby now in Ryan's arms instead of her mother's.

Kate shrugged, but remained seated as Castle jogged over to the couple and cooed at the baby.

"What's the matter? Huh?"

Sighing and running her hand over her forehead, Jenny answered, "She just had her first injections and she's barely stopped crying since."

"The big needle hurt, huh?" Castle asked, playing with one of Sarah Grace's bootie-covered feet, and pulling stupid facial expressions. After a few of them, the baby's cries had quietened to a sniffle and a slow, open mouthed smile was spreading across her face.

"Thank you, Rick," Jenny said, her voice filled with relief and gratitude. "You really have a way with her."

"She's just a great kid," he replied. "When Alexis had her first shots, she screamed herself as red as her hair. If the two of you ever want a break, I'll gladly take care of her."

Raising her voice, Kate added, "Just beware that when you get her back, she'll have an unhealthy obsession with the _Star Wars_ theme tune-"

"-Just 'cause you don't think it's a good lullaby," he muttered under his breath.

"We'll keep it in mind," Ryan promised, nodding at Castle before turning back to his wife to hand over his now happy daughter and say goodbye.

* * *

><p>"Okay, that's the last of it," Kate announced, piling Carrie's finances back together and sticking a post-it note with all of the places she wanted to check out on top. Grabbing the two coffee mugs on her desk, she stood and paced across the bullpen, depositing the mugs in the dishwasher for later. Castle sat playing <em>Flappy Bird <em>on his cell phone while she poked her head around the tech room door. "Anything?"

Tori nodded, collecting a couple of sheets of paper while Beckett stepped into the room and allowed the door to close behind her. The five pieces were all printouts of people entering Carrie's building they hadn't managed to identify from the logbook.

"Are we sure they aren't just residents?"

"Yeah, I had the owner of the building and the letting agency send over photocopies of the IDs of all of the tenants," Ryan answered, glancing up from the footage he was fast-forwarding through.

"I ran them through facial recognition," Tori said, indicating the papers in Kate's hands. "Three of them popped up in the system. That's Mario Black, low level drug dealer." Kate nodded, flipping through the papers to see the second photo. "Shelley Wright. She was brought in on a domestic violence charge seven months ago." Nodding at the third photo, she continued, "And that's Jonah James though his record is just a bunch of drunken fights."

Nodding, Kate flipped through each of the printouts again, focusing in particular on the last two unidentified people.

"Any sign of any of these people hanging around on Wednesday?"

Ryan shook his head. "Tori ran a search for them on the footage we have of Carrie walking to the Subway station, but none of them popped."

"Any luck finding where she got off yet?"

"She didn't use her metro card that day, so I'm going through as much footage as I can. So far I haven't found her but I'll keep looking."

Leaving Ryan and Tori to get back to the CCTV footage from the city's Subway stations, she backed out of the room and pulled out her phone, dialling for Esposito. It surprised her that he had been gone so long, but he picked up on the first ring, foregoing a greeting to tell her he was on his way back.

"_The guys at Pace Plumbing said they never actually sent anyone to check out Thea's water. A day after Marzano called, someone phoned and cancelled the callout._"

"Did we get a number?"

"_I spoke to the boss, and got it but there was no answer when I dialled. The phone's turned off._"

"Okay, how'd it go at Carrie's place? Anyone report having had work done?"

"_Sorry, the only people coming and going have been delivery guys_," Javi answered

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kate quelled her frustration, telling herself such a road block was to be expected in the labyrinth-like case they were currently working. After hanging up, Kate returned to her desk, finding Castle hadn't moved an inch and was still growling his irritation with the bird that had once again smacked into one of the game's obstacles.

Attempting to build a picture of their suspect, Kate jotted down a note about him knowing about the plumbing company and the hot water problem Thea had experienced. Already a number of possibilities leapt through her mind – someone tampering with the hot water so that the company would be called, someone who knew Thea and therefore knew what was going on or someone who was staking out the building. She couldn't quite rule out the possibility that Marzano himself had cancelled the plumber, however, so she also made a note to question him again if it proved impossible to identify the caller by tracing the phone number Espo had retrieved.

"You got something?" Castle asked, noticing what Kate was writing on one of her post-it stacks.

"Just ideas," she muttered.

Peering at the stack, Castle made his own suggestion. "Maybe Thea cancelled the plumber."

"Why would she do that?"

"Hot water fixed itself. Happens to me all the time. The blender stops working, I leave it five minutes and its good as new again," he answered with a shrug that made her roll her eyes.

Unsurprisingly, she didn't scribble down his idea.

"Delivery for Detective Beckett," a USPS guy announced, standing in the centre of the bullpen with a slim, cardboard box and a clipboard ready for her to sign.

"Right here," she replied, smiling kindly as she crossed to him and accepted the box before scrawling her signature – only just remembering that at work she should be signing her old name; not her new one, a change that was still hard to remember – on the paperwork. "Thanks," she told him, handing back the plastic clipboard and pen.

"Have a nice day," the mailman offered, turning on his heel to return to the elevator.

"Doesn't your mail normally get sent up through the internal system?" Castle asked as she returned to her desk and began picking at the edge of the box.

"It's probably just the warrant for Thea's financials back from the court," she answered, focusing on ripping open the parcel instead of his interest. When she finally managed to tear the tape sealing the box off however, it was very obvious that the court were not the senders of the item.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: You guys were so eager to find out what was in the box…**

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><p>Nestled inside the box, surrounded by blood-red tissue paper, was a note, the block script of which made it easy to read.<p>

_Two white, but where's the green?_

It was obvious that something else lay beneath the message from their murderer, propping it up to a more readable angle. Full of a foreboding feeling, Kate reached for a pair of gloves before picking up the rectangle of card to reveal the two intertwined rope strands curled up underneath.

"There's another victim," Castle breathed over her shoulder as he stared down into the contents of the box too.

Looking up, Kate opened her mouth to yell for the USPS guy, but he was already gone. She jumped into action, grabbing for the phone on her desk and calling down to the desk sergeant to request that someone down on the ground floor hold the delivery guy.

Two minutes later, while she waited with her shoulders locked in a tense position, the phone rang.

"I'm sorry, Detective. It seems that your guy already left the building."

"Damn it," Kate cursed, drawing Castle's attention. Since she had opened the box, he had been sitting silently, chewing on his thumb apparently deep in thought. "We lost the delivery guy."

"What delivery guy?" Espo asked, striding towards her desk with purpose while his brow furrowed at the unexpected shitstorm that had taken hold of the precinct since their current murderer had decided to send her the little gift that still sat waiting on her desk for someone from CSU to come and grab it. She doubted they'd recover any prints, but it was worth a shot and analysis of the box, card and cord could reveal something else that might prove useful.

"The one who brought Kate this," Castle said, pointing at box.

"That from the murderer?"

Kate gave one sharp nod. "Looks that way. Here." She nudged the box in his direction with her elbow, turning it slightly so that Espo could read the message with his own eyes.

"The weirdos really have a thing for you, huh?" he joked, falling back on cop humour to cover his concern. "Ryan and I never get creeps latching onto us."

"You're just not pretty enough," Kate retorted, grinning as Espo shot her a wounded look. It soon hit her that he had set himself up for her comment just because he wanted to see her smiling rather than brooding. Sighing, she allowed herself one more moment just to collect herself before speaking. "Okay, let's bring the mailman back in. Castle, you see a name on him anywhere?"

"No. Just the uniform."

"Better get a sketch artist up here before we speak to USPS."

Castle tuned out as Kate got back on the phone to chase up whoever was coming to collect the evidence sitting on her desk. He was glad the offending item would be getting taken away soon. Sitting beside it reminded him that whoever had killed Carrie and Thea was still out there and, _more importantly_, he knew who Kate was and how to find her. The thought that she – or even they – had been being watched sent his panic level ratcheting up another gear.

The icy tone of Gates' voice as she called Beckett into her office had him rising and following even though neither woman had said anything to him. Neither of them even seemed to notice him lurking in the room, certainly Gates paid him no attention as she demanded, "What's this I hear about you receiving a message from the Richards and Mathison murderer?"

"Sir, it's nothing-" Kate began, not in the least bit surprised to find her Captain speaking over her within seconds.

"Detective, _I _will be the judge of that. The second the two of you have sat with a sketch artist, I want you out of the precinct for the rest of the day."

"But Sir-"

"No arguments, Detective."

* * *

><p>"I still don't get why Gates had to kick me out of the precinct," Kate complained as she swung her legs out of the cab and pushed herself out onto the street beside Castle who stood holding the door open for her.<p>

Her husband chuckled as he shut the door and waved away the cab driver.

"Kate, it's one day; not forever."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "You would be on her side."

"I'm not on anyone's side. I just appreciate the fact that we're finally getting some time to get some Christmas shopping done."

"You've had half of Alexis' present since the beginning of the year," Kate pointed out.

"That doesn't count – I bought that online. When I say Christmas shopping, Kate, I mean walking through actual shops and seeing all the decorations out, seeing excited kids queuing for Santa's Grotto, unfortunate college kids dressed as elves-"

"-That unfortunate college kid could be your daughter."

Castle carried on as if she'd never spoken. "Grabbing free mince pies and gingerbread men when there's a new recipe at that bakery you love, finding mistletoe in stores and using it as an excuse to kiss you-"

Raising her voice, Kate interrupted, "I get the picture, Castle, now let's just get on." Linking her gloved hand with his, the two of them navigated the packed sidewalk of 34th Street, heading with unspoken consent to _Macy's_ to grab a new Christmas sweater for Alexis. "You paint a rosy picture, Castle, but the internet would be a lot smoother," she grumbled as someone brushed past her without even apologising.

After an hour of shopping they had amassed a surprisingly large number of bags between the two of them, but they'd also sorted out gifts for Kate's father, the boys, some of the staff of the _Old Haunt_ and even Gates – begrudgingly on Castle's part.

"She's my boss," Kate had argued as he stood with his hand poised protectively over the pocket he carried his wallet in. When he stood unmoved, she added, "You do want her to like you, right?"

"Fine," Castle had conceded, taking the ugly gremlin of a Gemini doll from her and taking it to the cash register to be safely wrapped as he paid an extortionate amount.

It was Martha they were struggling to find something for however. They'd trawled through almost every department store there was in search of something that screamed of his mother, finding that the winter fashion didn't seem to be going for the vibrant theme.

"I could always just-"

"-Castle, we are _not _giving your mother cash."

"I was gonna say more hair dye, but cash is good too…"

Shooting her husband a glare, Kate tapped her foot while she tried to think. Admittedly, Castle knew his mother better than she did, but she knew the _city _better than he did. There had to be somewhere they could find her a present.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "Come on, we need to get to East Village." With the many bags they both had, holding hands was impossible now, so Rick had to simply follow as Kate rushed out of _Capitol Fishing Tackle Company _where they had purchased Jim's new bait and fishing rod. He was one step behind her as she hurried down the sidewalk, physically swaying from side to side from a combination of her stiletto heels and the unevenly-balanced bags in her hands. Freeing up a hand, Castle grabbed her and pulled her to a stop at the roadside before throwing up his arm to flag a cab lest he spend the entire evening massaging Kate's sore feet after she walked the entire way to…wherever they were actually going.

"Strand bookstore, please," Kate asked as soon as a driver had stopped and let them in. At Castle's odd look – because what on earth could they find his _mother _in a bookstore – she added, "Just trust me."

Nodding, Castle let go of his bags, depositing them safely at his feet in the little amount of space left behind the driver's seat, and reached for Kate's hand, squeezing.

* * *

><p>Ignoring the shelves of bestsellers – which actually featured his own book still – Kate lead him through the maze of bookcases until they reached the back of the store where she fell to her knees and dropped her bags, hands reaching up to scan the shelves, book spine by book spine.<p>

"Got something," she said, a smile in her voice. When she turned around, her hands held a slim book titled _The Cocktail Party_. "It's a first edition."

Castle took the TS Eliot comedy and flipped through it.

"Any good?"

"I'd say it's perfect," he replied, letting his eyes run over the shelves of other rare and collectible books in awe. What other treasures could they hold? When Kate picked up her bags once more, however, he knew finding out would have to wait. He waited until she nodded before going to buy the play. "Ooh, do you know what's just around the corner from here? Forbidden Planet!"

"I guess we can take a look around," Kate murmured, reading the book jacket of a novel she'd picked up near the till point.

Castle ran into the store like a child, heading straight for the racks of comic books with an eagerness she hadn't seen since he'd discovered the existence of her kinky box. While he amused himself, she checked out some of the posters dotted around the store, occasionally hearing his shouts.

"Kate, they've got a life size Han Solo!"

"Idon't think he and Boba Fett would get along," she called back, hoping to dissuade him from buying his bathroom another 'decorative figure.'

"How about my own Iron Throne?" When she looked, he was already sitting in the replica, musing to himself, "Oh yeah, this would definitely work in my office. I could be the King of the Loft."

Shaking her head, Kate pressed her lips together to hide her smile and shot an apologetic look at the member of staff who was anxiously watching her husband in case he broke the chair.

When he spoke next, he was right behind her – sending a small fright through her.

"How about this?"

In his hand he held a plush Chewbacca.

"You don't need any more toys, Castle."

"Not for me. For Little Castle."

"I don't think Alexis wants a Chewie either," she teased.

Still, though he knew she was only pulling his chain, he replied, "For _our _Little Castle."

"There isn't even a little Castle in existence yet, Babe," she said, trying to let him down gently. As much as she loved the idea, and as cute as it was to picture a newborn snuggling up to the plushie on a space-themed cot, she couldn't quite quash the notion that it was ridiculous to buy baby stuff when there was, well, no baby.

Sighing, Castle nodded and went to return the toy only to find Kate had grabbed his arm. "How about we just get the Star Lord Nerf gear? You can challenge Alexis to a new contest?"

* * *

><p>It was a nightmare to drag everything back to the loft and find somewhere to stow it all. Normally Rick would stick everything in his wardrobe, but the last few years he hadn't had all of Kate's things in the closet as well as his. He would never complain, but Kate took up a <em>lot<em> of space with her shoes and her dresses and her shirts. And her coats too, he realised when she removed the slightly worn red coat he still remembered her wearing so much during their first few months working together.

"Dinner…" he mumbled as he stood at one of the kitchen counters, tapping a finger against the surface as he tried to think of what he could whip up. As far as he knew, they only had the ingredients for Bolognese. As he surveyed the barren fridge, he thought he really ought to find time to do some grocery shopping. The last time he remembered getting anything had been before their Thanksgiving dinner. "Kate?"

His wife's head poked out of his office door a moment later, followed by her almost naked body.

He tried to ignore the fact that her towel was slipping and he was getting a tantalising view of the tops of her breasts.

"Spaghetti Bolognese okay?"

"Sure," she replied. "Just gonna hop in the shower. I'll help once I'm out."

True to her word, Kate returned thirty minutes later, with her wet hair pulled into a messy bun that would give her locks some loose waves once it dried, and stepped up beside him to help add the finishing touches to their dinner by slicing a few cherry tomatoes and pulling some basil leaves straight from the plant he had growing by the sink.

She'd barely finished when the phone rang. As Rick was busy straining the spaghetti, she volunteered to grab it, frowning when she recognised Esposito's cell phone number on the small, rectangular screen.

"Hey Javi, what's up?"

"This a good time?"

"We're just about to sit down for dinner," Kate said, glancing at Castle spooning bolognese over their two plates of spaghetti. "But if you make it quick, I can chat. You find that delivery guy yet?"

"Yeah, though unfortunately, Dre Danvers doesn't know anything. Our package went through the normal mail system before getting assigned to Danvers to deliver so, unless CSU can find something or we can track the box by its postage stamp right back to our guy…"

"We're screwed," Kate finished, releasing a sigh of frustration and disappointment. "Anything else happen while I was gone?"

"Thea's financials came in."

"Yeah?"

Esposito murmured an assent. "I've already found a couple of crossover points with Carrie. I'm about to head out to a twenty four hour gym that looks promising."

"Keep me posted?" Kate requested.

"Will do," Espo said, foregoing a goodbye and leaving Kate to sit down for dinner.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I decided to end there because I'd achieved everything I wanted to with this chapter and was running out of time to write it. More will hopefully be coming next week but about this time is when my workload gets crazy right up until the end of term, so I'm not sure I can make any promises! I'll do my best though. Any thoughts you have on the chapter would be greatly appreciated! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Whoa! I didn't realise how long it had been since I last updated this! Apologies, apologies! I just had so much university work because I don't have an even balance of modules across the terms this year and all my deadlines coincided leaving me with assignments to do from the middle of October right through to today. Because I haven't been able to devote much attention to this story, I'm planning to spend two or three days over the Christmas holiday just writing chapter after chapter of this in order to try and actually get it finished for you guys. **

**Also, I'm posting this chapter, but I'm not going to be able to write at all this next week since I'm going away, so apologies in advance for that. I kept this chapter a bit shorter to get it out to you guys earlier. I hope you don't mind. **

* * *

><p>Gates wouldn't let her in the precinct the next morning, or the morning after that, and while Castle was appreciating the chance to enjoy spending all morning in bed with her and no interruptions; after three days of just Esposito and Ryan's phone calls, she was itching to investigate herself. On Wednesday she woke early and dressed warmly with a turtleneck under her blazer before heading in to work, leaving Castle to doze for a few more hours.<p>

The boys shot her wary looks as she crossed the bullpen, heading straight for Gates' office, but she was determined to be let back on the case.

"Beckett, good," the Captain said, looking completely unsurprised by Kate's appearance. "Looks like you're ready to get back to work now."

Kate floundered for a moment. "Sir, I- What? You're letting me work again?"

"Yes, I'd say your few days away have given you the right perspective again."

Beckett stared for a moment, wondering if she was correct in assuming that her boss had purposefully kept her away from the precinct in order to make her more resolute in the investigation before deciding that either way she probably wouldn't get a direct answer and stepping backward out of the office.

Beckett shook her head, blinking a few times, and then spun to face the boys. If they thought her moment just outside the door was unusual, they didn't say anything.

"Where are we with the financials now?"

"I checked out the gym, got a list of all of their clients, but the receptionists weren't exactly a great deal of help answering questions about Carrie and Thea. Apparently 'hundreds of blonde women use the gym every day' and they don't take enough notice of them individually to tell us anything of use," Espo answered, shaking his head with contempt as he recalled his attempts at interviewing the two buff men sitting behind the reception desk.

Kate arched an eyebrow but kept her doubts about their two victims, both astonishingly beautiful women, going unnoticed at the gym to herself.

"Any names on the list popping yet?"

"Got a few guys coming up with records – drug use, a couple of B & Es, drunk and disorderlies but nothing that would suggest graduating up to murder."

Kate sighed but nodded. None of them had expected finding their perp to be easy.

"You and Tori must be done with all the security footage now, right, Ryan?"

"Yeah." Ryan grabbed a folder from his desk and handed it to her. "This is everyone we couldn't match."

Accepting the folder, Kate flicked through it, taking a moment to memorise each of the printed faces.

"And have you managed to track Carrie from her apartment to Jason's?"

Ryan shook his head. "It's possible she took a cab," he said, sounding both unconvinced and disappointed to have not found anything still.

* * *

><p>"One coffee and one takeaway breakfast," Castle announced, setting down first a polystyrene cup and then a small Tupperware box containing a savoury muffin he'd apparently whipped up.<p>

Kate shot him a grateful smile and immediately reached for the coffee, warming her fingers around the cup as she lifted it to her lips. Castle seated himself while she drank and opened up the container with her breakfast, glad he'd been right to assume she'd not eaten anything before she left. He'd felt much like a detective himself as he scanned the fridge and lifted out the milk carton, testing its weight, before determining that everything was as they'd left it the previous day.

"Did you put bacon in this?" she asked after one bite, frowning as she poked around at the fluffy sponge with the tip of one finger.

"Did I put bacon in it? Of course I put bacon in it! What kind of breakfast muffin would it be without bacon?" Castle replied, overdramatizing with a hand over his chest.

Rolling her eyes, Kate took another bite, smiling as she chewed. It didn't take her long to finish the morsel and make a start on draining her coffee cup too.

"Alexis says she's gonna catch a cab back tomorrow afternoon sometime," Rick said after flicking through a couple of messages on his phone.

"She done for the semester now?"

"Yeah, apparently she finished yesterday but she's gonna stick around to catch up with some friends before they all go home for the holidays."

"You wanna stay home tomorrow then so you're there when she gets in?" Kate offered, looking away from her emails for a second to meet her husband's gaze.

"I-"

Rick stopped speaking as her cell phone began buzzing, vibrating on the desktop between them, the lit-up display clearly showing the caller ID.

"Go on," Rick said, pushing himself up out of his chair. "I'll just make us some more coffees to go." By the time she'd swiped her thumb across the screen and accepted the call, he was halfway to the breakroom.

"Beckett."

* * *

><p>"So, we found the third victim?" Kate asked, ducking under the crime scene tape with practised ease before holding it up for Castle to shuffle under.<p>

"I found this on the body," Lanie said, holding up a piece of green twine that already looked like it would be a match for the two white strands of nylon rope they already had.

Castle was green in the face, purposefully turning his head away from the body as he mumbled, "I hoped we'd get to her in time."

"We didn't really expect her to be alive," Beckett replied, looking grim as she flicked her gaze back to the putrid body for a moment before squeezing his arm. "I think the note was talking about bodies, Castle; not victims."

He nodded, looking no less pacified however.

"What do we know so far, Lanie?"

The ME returned her gaze to Kate and finished jotting something down on her notes before pointing out the obvious details. "Cause of death is strangulation. There are definite indentations from a cord, and obviously the evidence points to it being the same type of green and white nylon, but I won't make any firm conclusions on that front until I've got her back on the slab. Judging from the level of decomposition, the body's definitely over a week old."

Kate bit her lip as she stared at the bloated body.

"Any clues on who she is?"

Esposito stepped forward after conversing with one of the attending uniforms. "Nothing. Unis have canvassed the area, gone door to door but no-one seems to know her from the description we're circulating. Either she was mugged in part of the attack or whatever personal affects she had with her were taken by some lowlife afterwards."

Frowning, Kate surveyed the alleyway. Unlike her mother's murder in Washington Heights, their crime scene wasn't in a dodgy part of the city and there was nothing on the body to indicate a mugging or attack of any kind other than her murder.

"No signs of sexual assault?"

"Her clothing's all intact," Lanie offered, unable to say anything else since she hadn't had any time for anything more than a surface examination of the body and the condition they had found it in.

"How was she found?" Kate asked, turning back to Esposito.

"One of the restaurant owners found her when they moved the bin to investigate the smell."

"She was dumped here?"

Esposito shrugged. "Impossible to tell at the moment. Ryan's getting hold of what footage he can. Maybe we can tell from that."

Beckett nodded. With the absence of blood it was harder to determine whether the alleyway she found herself in was the scene of their victim's murder. Either way, the discovery of the body concerned her.

* * *

><p>"You okay?" Castle asked. They had been driving for twenty minutes and Kate had still yet to say a word.<p>

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, just lost in thought."

"About the victim," he replied, hazarding a guess that his wife's attention was devoted to their case. When she nodded, he twisted slightly in his seat, resting his shoulder in the back of it. "What's up?"

"It doesn't fit the pattern, Castle. And I don't understand."

"Because she was killed outside?" Castle queried.

"That too. He's supposed to kill three women in a week. Rick," Kate said, grimacing as she flicked her gaze at him and continued, "It's been over a week. The victim's we've recovered weren't killed within the same week."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Apologies again for my absence and for the length of this chapter. I hope you are still intrigued with the storyline, and that this chapter has been enjoyable. More will be going up as soon as I've had the time to write it!**

**Thanks for reading (if you're still here!)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Thank you so much those of you who are still reading this story! Happy New Year – I hope it's a good one for all of you!**

* * *

><p>Rick didn't want to think about the change in pattern with the latest victim; he didn't know what it meant in regards to their killer – whether it was simply 3XK toying with them as he loved to do or whether it meant that the man behind the murders was in fact a copycat, as Kate had argued all along, who didn't know enough of the details and had made a mistake. As much as he didn't want to think about it though, he had to, for the instant they got back to the precinct Kate had strode to her desk and deposited her things, stopping only long enough to pick up a boardpen and uncap it, before making a start on adding what they now knew to the timeline of their murders, and there was only so long he could stand in the breakroom pretending he was having difficulty getting the coffee machine to cooperate.<p>

"Here," he murmured, standing to the side of the whiteboard with an NYPD mug outstretched towards her.

Already the details of the third victim had been added, with a broad approximation of her death window though unfortunately until Lanie completed her autopsy they wouldn't have many additions to make. Once the information they had accumulated earlier that morning had been added, Kate finally rested against the side of her desk, sipping at her third coffee of the day as she read over the timeline. Although she tried to look at the all of the information, her eyes were repeatedly drawn to the evidence picture of the message she had received from the killer along with the two twines from the cord he had been using to kill the victims.

"He knew what order we'd find the bodies in," she mumbled to herself.

Castle still heard her though, following her gaze to the very same picture. "You're saying that all three of the murders were still meticulously planned? That the deviation from the Triple Killer pattern is purposeful?"

Sighing, Kate shook her head. "Just thinking out loud." It was impossible to know the answers to her husband's questions without knowing the identity of this supposed Triple Killer.

Her thoughts and the fallen silence between them was broken by the return of the boys.

"Anything more from the scene?"

"Nada," Espo grouched, throwing his jacket over his chair with a mixture of annoyance at coming back empty handed and disgust at the smell lingering over it after spending fifteen minutes dumpster diving at their crime scene.

Kate restrained a sigh and instead ran a hand through her hair, shaking out a tangled curl before directing her gaze at Ryan who looked more composed than his partner, carefully folding his grey coat over the back of his chair before he sat down in it.

"Got a potential witness though, one of the dish-washers from the restaurant says he saw someone in the alley two nights ago moving around the dumpsters. I've arranged for him to come in this evening once he finishes his work shift to sit with a sketch artist."

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett left the potwasher from <em>Chailai's Thai House<em> in Ryan's charge, sneaking out of the precinct to go on home just after five while Gates was still busy on the phone with the police commissioner.

On the dining room table sat the Christmas cards they were running out of time to post, and the sight of them as Kate walked through the front door merely reminded her they still had presents to wrap for everyone. Thinking about all the preparations they were behind on, because of the case, like buying the tree and hanging up the decorations, even getting all the groceries they would need for the family dinner they were hosting on Christmas Eve for her father, Martha and Alexis brought back all the stress of the day that she'd lost during the car journey home.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kate paused just inside the door, shifting in surprise when Castle's hands landed on her shoulders from behind, pulling the two sides of her coat back away from her shoulders and arms before hanging it up. In mere moments he was back at her side, this time unwinding her scarf from around her neck and peeling her leather gloves from her fingers, taking time to lovingly soothe the feeling and warmth back into her slim digits.

"Glass of wine?" he asked, trailing massaging hands along her shoulders and around her neck in a bid to relax his wife. His magic fingers sent a wave of energy back through her body, bringing a lazy smile to her face and a heat to her skin.

"In the bath?" Kate suggested, spinning to look at him as he pulled a bottle from the wine rack and popped out the cork.

He nodded, pausing, "You want to eat first? Or get tipsy drinking on an empty stomach?" He waggled his eyebrows at his second question, holding up the bottle of red he'd selected randomly and waited, watching as a smirk tilted up the corners of Kate's lips. "Tipsy it is," he decided, leaving the bottle on the side as he grabbed two wine glasses.

Kate led the way through his office and bedroom, stripping out of her sweater on the way and leaving it strewn across the bed. Before removing any other clothes, she gets the bath started, turning the hot tap all the way round before inching the cold tap a centimetre or so to the right to moderate the water temperature.

Her husband set the two glasses down on the side of the bathtub and carefully decanted the Merlot out into them, filling them generously to over halfway before shifting them into a safer position on the opposite side of the tub. When he turned, Kate was already naked and leaning over the edge beside him to test the water temperature with a hand.

After easing her body into the warm water, Kate sat with her arms around her knees, watching as her husband got undressed, each disappearing layer of clothing revealing another part of his familiar body. Once he was done she leaned forwards, waiting for him to slide into the bathtub behind her before settling back against his broad torso as his arms wound around her.

"Long day," Rick said, reaching out for one of the wine glasses and offering it to Kate who simply nodded in agreement. While her actual logged hours weren't as bad as they could have been, as they had often been before Castle became her partner, there was something about the case she'd been saddled with that never failed to drain her. "Calls for an early night, I think."

A soft chuckle escaped his wife, had him nosing her hair to bring his lips to her ear.

"What?"

"You sound like you're getting a little old there, Castle," Kate answered, rubbing her hand absently up and down his right thigh, the leg that had been a slight nuisance ever since his skiing accident, twinging if he moved in the wrong way after some tendon damage.

Gasping, Castle tightened his grip around her. "I am not!"

"I don't know, you're married and settled down, about to hit fifty. I think that counts as old-"

"Hey, forty four isn't that close to fifty," Rick complained.

"It's closer than thirty four," Kate countered, laughing once more as she craned her neck to look back at her husband, completely forgetting about her wine and sloshing some into the bathwater.

"Tipsy already? Or just too old to handle your drink properly?"

She pinched him for that, a quick twist of her finger and thumb around the soft flesh of the inside of his thigh.

"Shut up, Castle," she moaned as he laughed, his mirth shaking her body as well as his own.

"Are you gonna make me?" he questioned, squeezing one of her hips suggestively as he eyed her lips.

"No, you'd enjoy it too much," Kate replied, rolling her eyes as he moved for her lips anyway, engaging them with his own.

* * *

><p>Exhausted, Kate rested against Castle as he idly traced patterns over her bare back, his finger occasionally flicking cooling water at the base of her spine as she came down from her high.<p>

"Told you I wasn't getting too old," he muttered, bringing a breathy laugh out of her before she fell silent and took to mimicking the movements of his hand on her back, trailing her fingers over his chest and shoulder. "So, dinner?"

"You just want to get takeout?" Kate asked, pushing against his chest to sit up, still straddling him.

"Fine with me," Castle assured her, already dropping his hands from her waist to reach over the edge of the tub for his pants where his phone residing in one of the pockets. "Pizza okay?"

"Yeah, olives and capers," she requested, twisting to turn one of the taps at the end of the bath and reheat what little water hadn't sloshed out of the bathtub, hoping to stop the chill creeping into her limbs since Castle was no longer wrapped around her like her own personal space heater.

* * *

><p>By the time their pizzas had been cooked and delivered, they'd finally garnered enough energy to drain the water and get out of the bath, only pulling on robes just in time to answer the front door.<p>

With the TV on and a recorded episode of _Marvel's Agents of SHIELD _playing, they ate in companionable silence save for Castle's occasional guffaws of laughter and odd comments as he fanboyed over Coulson and Lola. He hadn't been so talkative during a TV show since the previous season of _Game of Thrones _earlier that year when they saw _The Rains of Castamere_ and suffered watching the red wedding. It only got worse the next week when everything fell apart for Jon and Ygritte.

"Babe," Kate said slowly, "I think you should stay here tomorrow and be here when Alexis gets back-"

"-I don't mind coming into the precinct," he replied before she could finish. "Alexis won't care about coming back to an empty Loft."

"Don't you want to organise something special?"

Castle paused. "What's going on here, Kate? Do you not want me at the precinct or something?"

Sighing, Kate set down her current slice of pizza, pushing the plate onto the coffee table away from her before she could begin using it as a distraction.

"I just…"

"You what?" Castle prompted, "Just talk to me, Kate. Tell me what's going on in that mysterious head of yours." Emphasising his plea, Rick squeezed her wrist in a show of support for his wife.

It came out a lot quicker than he expected; a rush of words that took him a moment to decipher.

"You want me to stay at home so that I don't get stressed over the case too?"

"You should be stress-free and able to entertain Alexis; not brooding with me over this case," Kate explained, smiling softly as Castle smoothed his hand up and down her arm.

"If that's what you want, Kate."

* * *

><p>His absence felt like she was missing a part of herself even though she had only just begun working with him again after his book tour and had spent many years working without a partner before she arrested him at his book launch party back in 2009. Still, she pushed aside the urge to look behind to see if he was following her and instead pushed through the morgue doors.<p>

"You called," she said, looking at Lanie who had already begun pulling off her latex gloves when she heard the echo of Kate's heels down the hallway.

"Got an ID for you from her dental records," Lanie replied, crossing to the computer and wiggling the mouse to bring the monitor back to life. "Ann Gibson."

Kate studied the information Lanie had brought up on their victim, looking in particular at the last known address which was listed as a building she knew had been demolished at least three years ago. Glancing back towards the body, it dawned on her that the reason the last known address hadn't been updated was because there was nothing to update it to. Even accounting for spending at least three nights behind a dumpster, her clothes were still too tattered and dirty for her to be anything but homeless. Perhaps that was why she had been left outside, breaking the pattern set by 3XK.

"Any closer to establishing time of death?"

"I'm putting it at roughly ten thirty on December 12th – slightly later than I originally thought, but her body was definitely moved and the two environmental conditions seem to have been quite different, affecting the decomposition rate. It'll take a day or two to get the full analysis of particles on her clothes and skin back from the lab to see if we can narrow down where she was kept before being dumped."

Kate nodded, noting down almost everything Lanie said in case she forgot before she could get it up on her murder board timeline. Now that they had a time and date of death, she had all the more reason to wonder why Ann Gibson's murder differed so greatly from the two earlier murders of Carrie Richards and Thea Mathison. Not only had Carrie and Thea been found inside in conditions similar to those they'd come to recognise with the work of Jerry Tyson, they had also been killed in the same week; Ann had been killed the week following them, and unless there was a second body they were yet to find that had been murdered sometime between the 2nd and 8th of December, the pattern of the Triple Killer had been broken.

"Anything else?"

"Nothing you didn't already expect," Lanie answered, moving towards the body and the box with the green piece of twine they'd found along with the body. "Fibres from around her neck are consistent with the rope used in the other murders and those of 3XK. This piece of twine also definitely came from the same piece of the existing two white pieces we have."

"Thanks," Beckett said, nodding once again because they were facts she had already been sure of even without the scientific evidence.

Before she left OCME, Kate speed-dialled Esposito, asking him to make a few calls to homeless shelters in the area around their crime scene, asking whether Ann Gibson ever frequented any of them. By the time she'd returned to the precinct, he'd been successful in tracking down the shelter where Ann spent most of her nights.

* * *

><p>"Detective Beckett," Kate told the man who approached them in an apron, holding her badge out as evidence of her identity and job.<p>

"Detective Esposito, NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions if that's okay."

"Sure," the volunteer nodded; waving off a second approaching man and instead directing him to take the soup he carried and begin serving out more of it to the homeless. "What's this about?"

"Do you know an Ann Gibson?" Esposito asked.

The volunteer nodded, his waxy black hair shifting into his eyes only to be brushed back out of his vision. "Is she okay? Has something happened because, you know, I haven't seen her for a while and she used to come in pretty regularly?"

"I'm afraid, Mr…" Espo trailed off as he realised that they hadn't yet taken the man's name.

"Victor. Todd Victor."

"I'm afraid Ann's dead, Mr Victor."

A look of consternation crossed Todd's face before it cleared and his lips turned down into a frown. "What happened? How did she die?"

"She was murdered, Mr Victor," Beckett said, watching carefully for any more unguarded expressions before she went on. "How well did you know Ann?"

"Pretty well," Todd answered. "She was a talker, Ann."

"A talker?" Kate queried. "What do you mean by that exactly?"

Todd shrugged. "Just that she would chat a lot; tell me stories, things about her music, that kind of thing."

"She ever tell you anything odd?" Espo asked. "Talk about violence or crime, anything like that?"

"Not that I can think of, no." Todd crossed his arms, his face scrunching on thought while his posture curved in on himself defensively. "Though there was this one night when she got a bit rowdy-"

"Rowdy?"

"She…she hit me," Todd confessed.

"Did she have any cause to hit you?" Beckett questioned, wondering why Victor had chosen to talk about their victim _being _violent rather than being on the receiving end of it.

"No, I never really found out for sure, but I think she got some money busking on the street and decided to spend it indulging her old addiction, got a bit too drunk." There was something about the shrug of Todd's shoulders and his innocent expression, the lack of regret or grief maybe, that made Beckett doubtful. If she had to guess, after seeing the way Todd had been leaning over the shoulder of one of the other women at the shelter, she'd say that Ann hadn't wanted his advances.

* * *

><p>After handing over a business card with her number on and instructing Todd to call should he remember anything else that could be of use to their investigation, Beckett accompanied Esposito back to the precinct, riding shotgun in his cruiser for what had to be the first time in months.<p>

"Beckett, Captain wants to see you," Ryan called as she and Espo stepped off the elevator. Rather than detour to her desk, Kate simply handed her coat to Javi, nodding her thanks at Ryan before going in.

"Captain?"

"Update me on the case, Beckett," Gates requested, removing her reading glasses and folding them up to be placed carefully into the breast pocket of her blazer.

"We've identified the fourth victim, Sir, one Ann Gibson." Gates nodded, showing that she was listening and wanted Beckett to continue. Kate, however, wasn't sure what more there was that she could say. There was something in her gut that warned her she should be wary of brushing this case with the 3XK paintbrush.

"Anything else?"

"Sir, I'm not so sure that Ann Gibson's murder is linked with those of Carrie Richards and Thea Mathison. Carrie and Thea were both murdered and found in their homes or in places they frequently visited while Ann was found outside. And not only that, Ann wasn't murdered in the same week as Carrie and Thea."

Gates regarded her for a moment before she spoke. "I thought we'd agreed, Beckett, that there was no evidence to suggest that Jerry Tyson had survived the fall off of Willis Avenue Bridge or the gunshots inflicted by Mr Castle. As our killer is _not _Tyson, it would fit that he – or she – is capable of switching up the 3XK MO, no?"

Swallowing, Beckett tamped down her rising frustration and instead forced herself to agree.

"At the moment the evidence, including the message you yourself received in the mail, Detective, suggests that the three murders are connected, and that we're after one man. Investigate the cases as such."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

><p>Her irritation at Gates was still with her when she left the precinct that evening, staying later than she'd have liked because she could feel the Captain's eyes on her, watching her every move. Only when she heard the wheels of Ryan's chair roll across the floor did she push back her own seat and stand, stretching out the kinks in her back for a moment before grabbing her coat and bag, making sure her gun was safely holstered at her hip beside her phone.<p>

Rick heard the key twisting in the front door, calling out, "You're just in time for a specialty – linguine carbonara di mare," as he tossed the spaghetti strands in question through a colander in an attempt to lose some of the excess water they'd boiled in. Whipping the oven gloves off his shoulder he set the colander down on top of them on the worksurface and then turned to her, wiping his hands on a teatowel hanging from a cupboard handle beside him. "Good day?"

She shrugged noncommittally, hanging up her coat on the lone empty hook by the front door and pulling off her shoes before crossing the kitchen and stepping into his waiting arms.

"Bad day then, huh?"

"Just stuff with Gates," Kate answered, waving away his concern with a paltry explanation. "I'm ready to just eat and have fun and forget about it though. Where's Alexis?"

"She's finishing up some unpacking. Dinner's about ready though, so you can go up and see if she's done?"

Kate nodded, pressing a short-lived kiss to her husband's lips before leaving him to his cooking to head up the stairs.

"Hey 'Lex, you about done?" she asked, announcing her presence with the question as she stopped in her stepdaughter's doorway.

"Kate!" Alexis exclaimed, whirling round in surprise. "I didn't hear you come in! Yeah, I just need to stick my washing on now." She picked up the pop-out hamper, half-filled with what washing she hadn't done before the end of the semester and squeezed out of the door, walking back down the stairs side-by-side with Kate.

"Good semester, then?"

"I've still got a few more papers to work on over the holiday, but yeah, it was great. Professor Mulhorn, my Lit professor, was set on organising a class for Dad to give a talk in once she worked out who I was – thank God his book tour scuppered those plans – I think she still thinks I've inherited my family's creativity though."

"Haven't you?" Kate asked, thinking of some of the odd pieces of Alexis' artwork Castle had kept from her childhood and stored in his office.

Alexis shook her head, stopping in front of the laundry machine and opening the door before beginning to deposit her clothing inside. "I think I'm more of the scientific mind. I love a good book, but I would never want to write one. If I did, I definitely wouldn't do it under my real name-"

"-Why not?" Castle interrupted, breaking his silence as he eavesdropped.

Alexis startled, looking panicked as she explained, "There would just be so much expectation if people knew I was your daughter. I'm sure I could get a book deal two times more easily, but I might not actually deserve it."

Rick scoffed. "You excel at everything, Pumpkin. You can do whatever you put your mind to."

"I know," Alexis replied, smiling at both her father and stepmother. "What smells so good?"

A flash of worry flew across Rick's face as he remembered the dinner he had left in a saucepan on the stove after having finally mixed the seafood and sauce with the linguine. "Excuse me, ladies," he mumbled, dashing back to the stove and frantically stirring a wooden spoon around the pan. Breathing a sigh of relief at having escaped a burned mess stuck to the bottom of the pan, he pulled it off the heat, turning off the stove, and set out plates, using a spaghetti spoon to divide up what was in the pan between the three of them. When he was done, he found that Alexis and Kate had already taken to the table in expectation.

"Linguine carbonara di mare," he exclaimed, setting down a plate in front of Alexis, before grabbing a block of parmesan and a grater. "Cheese, mademoiselle?" Before his daughter could answer, he began grating, sending a shower of finely shredded cheese over her plate.

Kate's plate arrived next and she received the same waiter-like treatment that made her eyes roll and a small smile appear on her face. Unlike Alexis though, she managed to stop her husband from giving her such a mountain of cheese though with a hand on one of his wrists.

"Eat up," Castle instructed as he finally joined them at the table with his own plate and began grinding some pepper over his serving.

"So how's work?" Alexis asked, picking up a glass of water to wash down some of the pasta. "You're working the 3XK case, right, Kate?"

"It's not going so well," Kate confided, looking down at her plate for a moment and twiddling her fork through the linguine strands, building up a forkful that she then dropped back onto the plate.

"We'll solve it though," Rick said, looking first at his daughter and smiling reassuringly for her benefit before repeating the process with Kate once she stopped brooding over her food. Voice taking on a tone of musing and bragging, he told them, "Nothing gets past the Master of Mystery."

Snorting into her food, Kate hacked a cough and had to soothe her throat with a great gulp of water before she could reply. "Nothing?" she sputtered, staring at him wide-eyed. "What about the _fake _zombies? Or the nonexistant Mayan curse?"

"_Almost _nothing gets past the Master of Mystery then," he amended, and Kate couldn't argue with that. Their solve rates were always good whenever Castle was involved and it was a lot easier to grab perps when they had an extra set of feet to chase them down.

For Alexis the light-hearted bickering brought a feeling of warmth, of home. She didn't think she'd seen her Dad as happy as he was when he was in Kate and unlike his relationship with her mother and his marriage to Gina, it didn't seem like that was going to change any time soon.

"So," she said, interrupting their little moment, "what are we doing this evening?"

Kate looked between father and daughter, wondering if there was some kind of Castle tradition or a plan that she'd missed out on before Castle shrugged and asked, "Movie?"

* * *

><p>While Castle tidied away the dishes, sticking them all in the dishwasher and setting it to start once they were in bed, Alexis and Kate chose seats in the living room and switched on the TV – making a quick channel check before putting the DVD of <em>It's A Wonderful Life<em> on. Rick squeezed himself onto the couch with Kate, resting one arm along the back of the sofa, while his feet lifted up onto the coffee table. It didn't take long for Kate to sidle closer to him once the film was playing, tiredness setting in and making her want something soft and warm to lean against. Her head nestled against his shoulder while her hand fell onto his leg, thumb rubbing mindlessly against part of one of the inner seams.

Wandering hands soon transgressed into longer touches, kisses on heads that turned into soft meetings of lips, attempts to be quiet that didn't quite work out.

"Get a room, guys," Alexis finally said, averting her eyes from the sight of her dad and Kate making out.

"We've been told, Castle," Kate murmured, a cheeky grin making her bite her lip as she looked at him and then down at his hand as her fingers slid in amongst his larger digits before tugging on them.

Picking up on the hints, Rick cleared his throat and said to Alexis, "Well, Kate's really tired so we're going to head to bed. Night, pumpkin."

"Subtle, guys," his daughter called after them, but they were too busy kissing and tugging at clothing as they passed through the doorway of his office to really hear.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Apologies for it taking longer than expected to get this chapter out. I struggled a bit with the flow of this chapter and everything I wanted to happen, so it ended up being written in little parts over about a week rather than all at once over one or two days. Anyways, I'm gonna shut up and leave you guys to do something else rather than read me rambling. Thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Some of you have asked whether this case will ever end, so to reassure everyone – YES, it will be solved; there just have to be a few twists and turns beforehand and trust me, it's for a reason that I can't yet reveal so sorry about that! If you're finding the case is becoming a bit boring or that the story's focusing on that too much, please do let me know! **

* * *

><p>"Hmm, morning," Kate hummed as her husband's roving fingers woke her. "Time's it?"<p>

"You can sleep a while longer," he replied, smoothing a hand down her shoulder before rolling out of bed. "I'll come and wake you." He didn't wait to see if Kate had gone back to sleep, just headed for the shower and washed as quickly as he could, eager to get a pot of coffee brewing and sit at his laptop for a few minutes while he was feeling inspired.

When he sat down at his laptop in the office twenty minutes later, steaming mug of coffee beside him, he didn't know what he was doing. It was murder, it was crime, but it was something more. There was a message to be made.

* * *

><p>The sound of someone making a racket in the kitchen woke her up full of confusion.<p>

"Castle?" she mumbled, vaguely aware that he'd told her he'd wake her. Peering around the room, Kate could quite plainly tell that her husband was nowhere in sight. Intrigued, she pushed back the comforter and swung her legs out of the bed, wondering whether it was Rick making such a ruckus, though she soon learned as she left the bedroom that it was not.

He didn't hear her, as he so often didn't when he was writing. How long he'd been writing, she didn't know but he seemed to have been flying through words, having a full page typed out before him.

"Thought you were gonna wake me," she said, making him startle, his jittering hand almost sending his laptop flying.

"Must have lost track of time," he explained, his lips quirking apologetically.

Waving away his apology, Kate found her attention drawn back to his laptop. "What are you working on?"

"Nothing, just _Storm _stuff," he replied, making sure to shut down his laptop though. He ignored his wife's frown of confusion – only just remembering that he was meant to be on a break from _Derek Storm_ since his publishers were yet to renew his contract with them for the series – and instead pushed back his chair. "I'll get started on breakfast?"

It took a moment for Kate to nod and even then she stood in place for a moment longer, her gaze flicking between her husband's retreating back and his closed laptop. Finally though she shook herself and instead returned to the bedroom, pulling the comforter back into place as she passed on her way to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Castle's voice calling, "Kate? We've got an unwanted guest," swiftly followed by the familiar tutting of his mother draws her out of the bedroom with a towel still tied around her wet hair and a hastily tied robe over her pyjamas.<p>

"Martha?"

"Morning Katherine, darling," his mother said, ceaselessly bustling around the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards. "Richard, what happened to that serving dish Steven got you as a wedding present?"

"You're stealing our fine tableware? Our wedding presents?"

"Pish, borrowing, Richard. _Borrowing_. I'll bring it back, I just need it for the olives." At both Rick and Kate's confused looks she explained, "The studio's having a party to celebrate the end of _If God Was a Woman'_s run."

"You've already taken my wine, Mother," Rick complained, smoothing out the stress lines on his forehead with one hand as he fought unsuccessfully not to sound too exasperated.

Stepping in, Kate told Martha, "Take what you need."

"Thank you, Katherine."

"We need to leave soon," she continued as a reminder to her husband, stepping past him with a hand trailing soothingly across his back as she opened the fridge and pulled out the pack of bacon. There were only two rashers left but she threw them both into the frying pan Rick had left out on the stove and left them to cook in oil, turning instead to the task of whipping up two quick omelettes that ended up having to be wolfed down so she could return to the task of getting dressed and drying her hair.

Running late, her makeup had to wait, done expertly in the car as Castle got the rare opportunity to drive her car.

"Nobody can hear about this," she cautioned as they got out a block or two away from the precinct and switched places so nobody would see him driving the Dodge into the police garage.

"Morning guys," Castle said to Esposito and Ryan, not stopping on the way to the breakroom to make the coffees he'd completely forgotten about in the mania his mother had caused.

Frowning, Espo turned to Beckett for an explanation.

"What's the matter with him?" Ryan asked, also noticing Castle's lack of cheer.

"Martha paid an unexpected visit," Kate explained, glancing through the window to see her husband impatiently tapping his finger on the counter top as he waited for the two cups to fill with coffee.

Despite his obvious frustration, he still carried both mugs to her desk with care and made sure Kate was settled with hers before he made himself comfortable, finally removing his coat and scarf.

"Anything new this morning?" Kate asked the boys after a mouthful of piping hot coffee.

"Just the official autopsy report from Lanie," Esposito said, nodding towards one of the folders on desk. Scanning it, Kate could quickly tell that there was nothing in it she didn't already know, so she passed it to Castle for a closer inspection.

"What about our so-called witness? Where are we with the sketch artist depiction?"

Ryan stood and grabbed the piece of paper bearing the drawing from the murder board, handing it to Beckett so she could study it. Although the man had dark hair and wide jaw, there were no more obvious similarities with Jerry Tyson. Given that the waiter from _Chailai's Thai House _had seen their only suspect late one evening, they didn't have a lot to go on since he'd been unable to provide details about eye colour or

"Not a lot more to go on, I'm afraid. Dara saw our guy late one evening and apparently wasn't close enough to tell his eye colour or hair colour – just that it was dark. He wore a grey hoody under a dark jacket. Doubt Dara would have turned a blind eye if the alley hadn't been deserted."

Kate nodded, thinking for a moment, plotting a new course of action for the four of them. "Right, take the sketch and show it to Jason Reynolds, the Mathisons and Fabien Laurent; see if they recognise him or can link him to either Carrie or Thea. Castle and I are going to work the Ann Gibson angle."

Nodding, Ryan and Espo proceeded to gather their coats, stopping only a moment at Kate's desk to take back the sketch and head on out.

Kate took pity on her husband, allowing him to finish his coffee and read up on their latest victim before she told him to get his coat back on.

"Where are we going?"

"Depends on where you can think of that homeless people tend to end up going," she answered as he thumbed the button in the lift to take them back down to the car.

"Tomkins Square Park, Harlem River Park, Fort Green Park…" Castle said, beginning to reel off parks and public spaces where unfortunately high numbers of homeless people could be seen. "Ooh! New York Public Library!"

"The library?"

"Don't doubt it, Kate. Why wouldn't a homeless person want to spend their day in the library – it's warm, there are books to read, computers to use."

Keeping her doubts to herself, aside from an eyebrow that refused to fall properly back into place, Kate focused instead on pulling out of the carpark exit safely into traffic and letting Castle's continued rambling fall into the wayside. She chose one of the parks at random, working on a mental map in her head to get them there in as little time as possible.

The car they left a block or so away, walking through a bracing wind until they dropped down onto the first bench they came across.

"So what are we doing here exactly?"

Pushing her gloved fingers into the warmth of her pockets, Kate scanned the park for a moment before replying. "Well the fact that Ann was homeless and had no money kind of ruins our gym theory. Our guy had to have met her somehow, so if we can track down where she spent most of her time maybe we can find our guy."

Castle nodded, following Beckett's roving gaze around the park.

Eventually he grew bored of the silence though. "What are we looking for exactly?" He'd only glanced around the park for a few minutes, but it was fairly obvious that there were no homeless people that day – probably having been sent on their way by uniforms during the crackdown on vagrants they were currently going through. "Guys paying too much attention to blondes? I hate to disappoint you but the only people I'm seeing are a few dog-walkers and people with kids – not likely candidates."

"Doesn't mean Ann didn't spend time here," Kate countered, suddenly standing and walking a few feet towards a passing dog-walker. "Hi, sorry to bother you. Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD-"

"-Richard Castle," her husband said, appearing at her elbow.

"Have you got time for a few questions?"

"I've got to get Sandy here back to her owners so if you don't mind tagging along sure," the twenty-something year old man replied.

"Not a problem," Kate assured him, falling into step beside the friendly dog-walker. Digging around in her pocket, she pulled out a folded photo of Ann Gibson she'd barely remembered to snag from the case folder before they left the precinct. "Do you recognise this woman?"

The dog-walker squinted at the picture as he walked before shaking his head.

"Take your time," Beckett encouraged. "She was homeless so you might not have paid close attention to her; I just want to know if you've seen her around this park or any others in the area."

"I guess maybe, but she definitely didn't come here often. I'm quite friendly with the regular guys that hang around here. It's the moms and nannies that always complain to you guys and have them moved on. You could try the parks nearer Harlem – I don't think there's as much a crackdown round there yet."

"Thanks," Kate said with a nod, letting the guy walk on ahead of them as she and Castle instead strolled back the way they had come.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately their luck wasn't much better at the next park they tried, though that one did still have four or five homeless men standing by the entrances with hats out to collect money. At the sight of her and the badge on her hip however, all of them fled yelling curses back, leaving she and Castle hanging around waiting to see if they would return.<p>

Without the homeless guys – the people who were probably most likely to recognise Ann – they were back to simply people-watching.

"Oh ho ho," Castle chuckled somewhat randomly after a few moments. At his wife's confused glance he pointed across the park and said, "That guy over there. Totally interested in her."

Kate followed his pointing finger and saw the man leaning over the railings surrounding the children's play area to talk to a dark-haired woman occasionally flicking glances over at the girl racing through the jungle gym.

"That's great, babe, but it's not exactly what we're meant to be doing."

"He could be our guy." At Kate's look, he argued, "Well he _could_ be. I'm not saying he _is _just that he could be."

"Four o'clock," she said, earning a confused look from Castle this time as he checked his watch and told her that no, it was still only just gone ten. "No, four o'clock." She nodded this time, tilting her head in the direction she'd just spotted the shabbily-dressed whistling man.

"Let me," Castle advised, standing and walking towards the man. Even from where she was stood, Kate could see Castle pulling out his wallet and giving the man a few notes of cash, his mouth moving as he talked and then his head turning in her direction. A few moments later, her husband was at her side again, this time joined by the homeless man he'd somehow charmed. "This is Larry."

"Hi Larry. You want a coffee? A hot chocolate?" She was beginning to feel the chill in the tips of her fingers again, despite her leather gloves, and heading over the road to the small coffee joint sounded incredibly appealing the second the words were out of her mouth.

Larry nodded, a voice stronger than what Kate had expected from an old man in the middle of winter coming out moments later. "Coffee would be lovely. I don't want no funny business mind."

"I just have a photograph to show you, that's all."

Rick led the way back through the park gates and over to the café, letting Kate sit down at a table with Larry while he went to make their order. He had no idea what Larry would usually drink, but decided going for something strong with a spicy kick would be good. The man looked freezing in his tattered coat and fingerless gloves. He waited for the drinks and then once the three cups had been loaded on a tray for him, he carried it back to the table Beckett had chosen beside the window where she could watch who was coming and going through the door – unable to supress her cop instincts even for a moment.

"Oh sure, I know Ann," Larry was saying, looking at the photo with a small smile. "She was a singer, you know. Beautiful voice. I saw her busking once. Just unlucky, I guess."

Kate nodded understandingly, keeping her comments about it being the coke habit that had probably scuppered Ann's music career rather than bad luck.

"Was there anywhere in particular that Ann would spend time?"

"She busked in Central Park – targeted the tourist crowd," Larry answered after a sip of his coffee, not making a comment on the pump of ginger syrup Rick had asked to have pumped in.

Sat near the door, Kate was well aware of the few confused and disgusted looks sent towards their table once people coming into the establishment noticed Larry and realised he was homeless. She ignored it however and continued with her questions, allowing Rick to note down the places that Larry mentioned. By the end of the make-shift interview, they had a list of eight places to check out.

* * *

><p>"So we're looking for suspicious people now?" Castle asked.<p>

"Just not I'm-stealing-your-handbag type suspicious."

Castle nodded and the two of them sat down on another bench, holding hands and pretending to be absorbed with one another while actually maintaining a careful watch on the goings on around them. Admittedly, given that it was the middle of December, the park was far less busy than it would be on a summer's day.

"You know, I used to come here with Alexis," Castle murmured, watching two children chasing one another around.

Kate nodded, keeping herself focused on two men passing by on the street though.

"I taught her to ride a bike here," he said, smiling fondly at the memory. "Alexis wasn't scared at all when I let go of the saddle and stopped running alongside her. She was so adventurous, she insisted on learning without stabilisers too." He laughed lightly, remembering the look on his daughters face when he'd tried to convince her that they needed to put the second set of wheels on. He paused before he continued, before he said it, wondering if it was really appropriate when they were meant to be working. He couldn't help it though; the words had a mind of their own, as did his lips apparently. "You think we'll bring our kid here?"

The questioned jolted her, a surprised movement taking hold of almost her entire body until she had twisted so her knees were knocking into his and she was facing him as fully as the bench allowed.

She could see the picture his words had painted, except this time it wasn't a girl with ginger pigtails but a dark, wild-haired boy flying past her and yelling, "Mom! Look!"

"Why wouldn't we?" Kate finally asked, voice soft.

Castle just shrugged, picked at an invisible fleck on his jeans until Kate's hand stilled his under her own and he was forced into looking at her, swallowing.

"I see it all the time. Us, a little girl."

"I see a boy."

"And then I wonder if what I see will really happen. What if we don't stay in the city; what if we move to the suburbs-"

"-Castle?" Kate interrupts, staving off a laugh. "I highly doubt we're going to be moving to the suburbs any time soon – I don't really want to have commute in to work at all hours of the day. How about we actually have the kid before we start worrying about stuff like whether to get a house or what school to pick?"

"Am I being a worrying mother hen?"

"Yes, but I love you for it," Kate assured him, sweeping her thumb over the back of his regardless of the fact that she couldn't even feel his skin because of her glove. "While we're at it, any other confessions you want to make?" she asked, attempting to bring a levity back to the atmosphere.

"There is one other thing…"

"Yes?"

"I can't help looking for Tyson," he blurted, wincing because he expected to be berated for staying obsessed with the idea that Jerry Tyson was back.

Instead, however, Kate squeezed his hand. "I'm not completely unaffected either," she admitted.

Castle sighed. "I wish he'd leave us alone, even if it turns out that it's not him. I wish we'd feel like he was gone for good."

"Maybe he is." It didn't feel like much, but it was all Kate could say.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Going to attempt to get another chapter out to you guys this week, so fingers crossed I manage it.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Two things: 1) Managed it! and 2) Can I say a massive thank you to those of you who take the time to review? THANK YOU!**

**Okay, I'll shut up and let you read now, just don't hate me for what happens!**

* * *

><p>"Is my hearing working properly?"<p>

Shoving on his shoulder, Kate told Rick to shut up.

"You really want to have a lazy morning in bed?"

"Not the entire morning," Kate pointed out. Really, all she wanted was an hour or two longer before getting up.

"What about the precinct?"

"Things won't completely fall apart if we don't get there until half nine."

Impressed, Castle flopped on his back beside her before rolling onto his elbow again. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

"I'm being serious." The laughter accompanying that statement made it slightly hard to believe. "The case is getting nowhere fast; I think it's only a matter of time before Gates calls it cold." Kate sighed, wondering if there was anything else they could have done, any other investigative avenues they could have taken to actually catch the guy behind three 3XK-style murders.

"Well, if I'd known you were going to want to spend so much time snuggling with me, I would have made sure we were so quick finishing."

It earned him a pinch of his ear, but it also brightened Kate's mood again. Keeping his wife's spirits up was beginning to feel like a full-time gig for Castle. The three murders and the apparent disappearance of whoever was behind them kept her stressed out most of the day, and the unfortunate false hope they'd had just two days before certainly didn't help matters.

* * *

><p>"<em>Guys, I don't care how much footage you have to sit through – find Carrie on it!"<em>

_Stalking away, Kate didn't hear Esposito and Ryan muttering under their breath about her or the stupid impressions that followed. Lurking at the door, Castle heard it all though._

"_Jeez, what is her problem?" Espo complained. "That's the third time today she's ordered me about."_

_Castle found her at her desk, abusing the stapler before throwing it back into one of her desk drawers when she discovered that the reason it wasn't cooperating was because it had in fact run out of staples. _

"_Kate, is everything alright?"_

"_Fine!" she snapped, making the mistake of looking up at his shocked face and sighing. "Sorry."_

"_What's going on?"_

"_Nothing, I'm just stressed. This case – everything I do, every time I think we might be onto something it just turns into another dead-end."_

_Castle rubbed her shoulders and nodded understandingly. _

"_Remember all that good advice you guys gave me for Nikki Heat – the odd sock – we just need to find the odd sock."_

_Nodding, Kate felt the tension leak out of her shoulders, her defensive hackles falling back down, and she realised the full extent of how she'd been acting. _

"_I should probably go and apologise to the boys," she murmured remorsefully. "God knows what they think."_

"_They probably just think you're PMSing," Castle assured her, rushing to apologise and find another suggestion when he noticed the pause Kate had taken, the way her expression had frozen. Kate heard nothing though. At the mention of her monthly cycle she realised that she couldn't be PMSing when she _should _have been PMSing over a week ago. Excitement spreading through her, she hopped up out of her chair. "Kate, really, I'm sorry, there's no need to put a bullet in my head or anything-"_

"_-Castle, shut up a second. I'm not going to shoot you, but I do need you to come with me right away!"_

"_So you can kill me where there aren't any witnesses?!"_

"_No," Kate said exasperatedly, tugging on his arm to try and get him moving. "So you can come with me to buy a pregnancy test."_

_Castle's feet finally came unstuck from the floor and he staggered a step forwards, almost crashing into his own chair at Beckett's desk. As it was his hands gripped weakly onto one of its arms as he looked back up at his wife. _

"_I'm sorry, what?"_

"_You heard me," she replied, grinning uncontrollably. _

"_Are you really…" He couldn't help it; his eyes flicked down to lock on to her midriff. Laughing, Kate tipped his chin back up. _

"_Well, I am late-"_

"_-No, you weren't Detective Beckett," Gates said, though when she appeared at her desk neither she nor Castle knew. "You were right on time this morning."_

"_Sorry, Sir, I meant for an appointment that I forgot I'd made," Kate told her boss, thinking quickly. _

_Gates scrutinised her for a moment before nodding. "Well I'm sure Detectives Ryan and Esposito can hold down the fort for a while."_

"_Thank you, Sir," Kate said, grabbing Castle's coat and flinging it into his arms before getting her own and starting the short trip to the elevator, leaving her husband to catch up. _

* * *

><p>"<em>Seriously? You're going to make me stand outside?"<em>

"_Castle," Kate moaned from within the bathroom. "I'm peeing on a stick – there is no way I'm gonna let you see that."_

"_I've seen you go to the toilet loads of times," he countered, but it was almost like his wife was prepared for his response. _

"_Yeah, and how many of those times was I peeing on a stick?" He grumbled something unintelligible both to him and to her, but then she called out, "Look I'm almost done anyway, so just hang on a few seconds."_

_Finally the bathroom door opened, and he entered, passing Boba Fett to stand beside her at the counter next to the sink. _

"_How much longer?" were the first words out of his mouth._

"_Two minutes," Kate answered, sounding just as impatient however. _

"_God, this is the longest two minutes of my life," Castle muttered mere seconds later, thinking that even standing at the end of the aisle in the church waiting for Kate to make her appearance hadn't been as bad. "I can't even stand here looking." Spinning, he looked out into the rest of the bathroom, finding a fleck of green in the turquoise tiling pattern that held his attention for all of three seconds. _

_At his side, Kate didn't fare much better, ending up pacing before the short timer she'd set on her watch finally ran out._

"_Well?" Castle asked, staring at her where she stood near the bathtub. _

"_You look."_

_He managed a quarter turn towards the sink before twisting back towards her. "I can't. I'm too nervous."_

_Kate swallowed, the noise echoing in the bathroom, the only sound other than their breathing and her quiet footsteps back towards the sink. His eyes slipped closed and he waited with baited breath to hear her say, "It's positive," and make joyful – but manly – tears fall from his eyes. Instead, all he heard was the shaky draw of breath Kate took._

_His eyes flew open, easily taking in the sight of her open mouth and a tear track down each cheek, glistening in the room's bright light. He was still in limbo, still trapped without knowing. He had to know, he had to look. _

"_Oh Kate," he whispered, turning away from the test and its single blue line to wrap his arms around his wife's shaking shoulders as her sobs increased in volume and intensity. _

_It took a moment to understand her words around all the blubbering, "I really thought it was going to be positive."_

"_Next time it will be," he soothed, rocking her until her crying subsided and only the tears continued to fall before throwing the traitorous test into the bin and guiding his wife out of the bathroom. "It'll happen, Kate," he promised as he sat down on the bed with her and pressed a kiss to her skull, resting his cheek atop her head while she burrowed into his shoulder. _

* * *

><p>"So you're sure you don't mind us starting without you?" Alexis asked, watching as Kate manoeuvred around the kitchen, grabbing first her holster and gun from one of the counters then her badge from the breakfast bar and her flask of coffee from Rick's hands.<p>

Kate nodded. "I'm sure. I'll probably be back before five. You guys have fun decorating," she replied, checking through her pockets with her one free hand to be sure she had her phone and her keys too. Finding them both, she said goodbyes to her husband and his daughter and was on her way, leaving the pair of them to turn the loft into a winter wonderland while she was out at work.

* * *

><p>At eleven thirty, Eduardo buzzed up the tree delivery guys, and he helped ease the massive thing through the doorway, the three of them carrying it through horizontally.<p>

"Where d'ya want it?" the guy holding the top asked.

"Alexis?"

"Maybe over here," Alexis suggested, pointing out the free area beside the stairs.

Nodding, Rick and the two other men carried the tree over then carefully shifted it into a standing position, stepping away to survey it with hands on their hips once it showed no hints of toppling over.

"Great," Rick enthused, smiling and shaking hands with both of the guys. "Thanks." Showing both men back to the front door, he tipped them well and sent them on their way before turning back to Alexis and rubbing his hands together with glee. "So, daughter of mine, where do we start?"

Between the two of them they soon had the lights wrapped around the tree and then the tinsel. The box of ornaments and handcrafted decorations was open at Alexis' feet when she picked up a bow of ribbon and then promptly put it back in the box, sealing it and pushing it to the side.

"Something the matter?"

"Kate's got decorations too now, hasn't she?" his daughter asked. "Maybe we should wait and see if she wants to put any of them on the tree."

"Sure," Rick said with a shrug. "You want to do the candles?"

"I keep telling you, Dad. They're lights, not candles."

"Well they're meant to look like candles, aren't they?"

"That's so not the same thing," Alexis muttered as she grabbed the box from the cupboard by the front door and carried it over to one of the windows, taking out the light set from within and leaving the box on the couch as she passed. The central bulb needed to be screwed in, but other than that it was a simple task of plugging them in and positioning them on the windowsill.

While she picked up the stack of cards they'd received in the post and still done nothing with, Castle continued pinning up garlands of tinsel around the loft, standing on whatever furniture he could. With Christmas songs playing throughout the room, the occasional song bringing a hum out of Alexis, he was glad that he and Kate had waited for her to return home before getting the decorations up – even if that meant doing so a mere three days before Christmas.

Leaving Alexis to continue putting up the Christmas cards, Rick strayed into his office and booted up his laptop, settling into his chair fairly quickly once he realised he had left the machine on sleep all night and it had managed to keep his document open.

* * *

><p>At the precinct, Kate felt like drilling a hole into her head to relieve the splitting headache developing right behind her eyes. Instead of doing so however, she sat and listened as the boys answered Gates' questions concerning their three murder victims, explaining every alley of investigation they'd followed until their Captain surveyed the three of them with a mixture of frustration and regret.<p>

"I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to call them cold."

The boys both groaned, beginning to make complaints, but Kate sat in silence, having predicted the outcome when she herself ran out of ideas on what other leads they could run down and how else they might catch their guy.

"I'll make the calls to the families," Gates assured them. "Why don't the three of you head off home early? Karpowski's team can cover for the rest of the afternoon before Ken and his team come on shift."

Beckett didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing her things, she wasted no time in putting on her coat and walking to the elevator. Though a brisk walk in the cool winter air might have been better for her head, Kate got into her car nonetheless, wishing for as little time alone with her own thoughts as possible. Ever since the negative test, she hadn't been able to stop worrying that maybe she'd let her biological clock progress a bit too far, or that maybe something was wrong with her uterus. It was obvious that there was nothing wrong with Castle's little swimmers – he had Alexis; but Kate, she'd never even had a pregnancy scare. What if she couldn't have kids?

* * *

><p>"You're back early," Alexis commented as she walked through the front door.<p>

She shrugged and, rather than unload the day's troubles onto the twenty year old's shoulders, said, "Gates sent us home. Rick in the office?"

Alexis nodded an affirmative, but Kate didn't move towards the set of bookshelves that kept her husband from her gaze. Rather, she removed her coat and hung it inside the cupboard, leaving her holster and badge on top of the shoe rack in there.

"The decorations look good," she told Alexis, nodding at the garlands hanging all the way around the room the cards stuck to the banister of the stairs. The great big tree in the corner caught her attention though. "You seem to have missed a spot though."

Alexis laughed, following her gaze to the sparsely decorated tree before she replied. "We waited for you. Dad and I thought you might want to put some of your decorations up this year too."

"Dad did what?" Castle asked, coming out of the office with what looked like a draft chapter for Gina that he promptly threw into the recycling bin. "Old draft," he explained as both Kate and Alexis looked questioningly at him. "So, what have I done?"

"Waited for me to get home to finish decorating," Kate answered.

"Oh so I'm not in the doghouse for something then." Castle chuckled, hoping to pull a laugh out of Kate, though the best he got was a wan smile. Making a second attempt, he asked, "You want me to go and get the box for you and then we can make a start?"

It took a moment for Kate to force a smile onto her face, more for Alexis' benefit than anything else since she didn't even know they were trying for a baby. Nodding, she replied, "Just let me change first."

* * *

><p>"What about this one?" Alexis asked, holding up a poorly stitched fabric stocking to ask for its story.<p>

Kate snorted as she took it in her hands and examined it for herself. "I made this when I was in third grade – I was terrible as sewing. Somewhere," she paused and dug around in the box, "there's a matching one my mom made." A moment later she pulled out the dark blue, perfect stocking and handed them both to Alexis. "My mom's one was her effort to teach me how to sew properly."

"We should have more homemade decorations," Alexis told her dad decisively.

"Pasta hearts not good enough for you?" her dad asked, holding up the heart-shaped piece of cardboard decorated with gold spray-painted pasta he'd been about to hang on the tree by its gold string.

"It's embarrassing to know that you kept that. It's not even meant to be a Christmas decoration."

"Changed your mind on the homemade decorations then, huh?"

Laughing, Kate said, "After fifteen years of things like badly cut snowflakes and multicolour glitter-decorated baubles hanging on the tree, you kind of get over the embarrassment, Alexis." Taking back the stockings she returned them to the box of her mother's decorations she'd salvaged from storage and instead pulled out a series of perfectly crafted silver stars, hanging them individually on some of the empty branches of the fir tree.

"What was Christmas like when you were a kid then?" Alexis asked, taking the proffered bauble from her father and placing it on her side of the tree.

"Christmas was… My mom made eggnog and gingerbread men every year. The tree – not a real one like this since my mom was allergic to pine needles – came out on the first of December, and my mom always made my dad and I help her decorate it even though it always looked horrendous and she'd secretly move stuff around over a series of days until it suddenly somehow looked perfect." Rick and Alexis chuckled. "Every year on Christmas Eve, my parents would argue over watching _Miracle on 34__th__ Street _or reading _A Christmas Carol_ so we usually ended up doing both until I was a teenager at least, old enough to put my foot down and refuse to sit in the arm chair listening to my dad reading aloud."

"But _A Christmas Carol _is a work of literary mastery, Kate. It's a classic," Rick said, earning a roll of her eyes.

"So's _War and Peace _but it doesn't mean you want to read it every single year," she countered.

He grumbled an acknowledgement of her point, returning to the task of finishing the tree while Alexis continued to pepper Kate with questions of how she had spent Christmases with her parents. Before he knew it, his side of the tree was almost packed with decorations and Kate and Alexis appeared to have migrated into the kitchen to start making a batch of gingerbread men.

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><p><strong>AN: So... thoughts?**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I know I go on and on about how busy I am, so I'm sorry to do so again. The following is a message for the anonymous reviewer who I can't explain to via PM so feel free to skip it if you're not all that interested in what exactly it is that's stopping me from writing so much.**

**To the anonymous reviewer: I'm sorry you're not happy with the frequency of my updates. I wish I could guarantee more regular story updates (because I **_**do**_** enjoy writing this story and fanfiction in general, you know). It just happens that I'm in my last year of university and, alongside my other modules and other commitments, meant to be writing a 10000 word dissertation that counts for a third of my whole degree. I'm sure you can understand that as this kind of determines my future it's obviously more important than fanfiction. You may be looking at the word count of this story and thinking that writing 10000 words is easy, which it is. The hard part is making sure that the argument is coherent and logical all the way through, that whoever ends up marking it understands the question I'm asking and answering, that what I'm writing is original and fully supported by evidence, that I'm not using up portions of the word count with unnecessary points or explanations. Alongside the actual writing, every week I have to get 8+ books out of the library to read and make notes from as well as read and analyse complex ancient texts in order to have the evidence to back up my arguments. And if the physical time requirements of it weren't enough, the pressure of it being worth 1/3 of my entire mark means that I'm thinking and stressing and worrying about it so much that it's actually hard to think about other things. I apologise for not being able to stick to a regular schedule of updates. I can't promise that I will be able to update every week - though I will try - what I can promise is that I won't forget about this story and that I will finish it and I hope that's enough for you. **

**I don't mind being sent messages about when I can update, but please just be aware that I might not be able to do much.**

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><p>He had no idea how Kate had managed to wangle three straight days away from the precinct, but he was immensely grateful. Castle didn't think he'd ever spent so long in bed with his wife. Usually she was unwilling to laze about with him but with recent events, he found Kate's behaviour wasn't actually all that surprising. In an odd role reversal though, he couldn't help beginning to feel bored with doing almost nothing all day.<p>

"We should probably get breakfast," he muttered, glancing sidelong at the alarm clock on the bedside table. Twelve thirty. "Make that lunch."

Kate groaned, the sound vibrating against his sternum where her head rested.

"Got to eat sometime," he reminded her. "And given the fact that it's Christmas Eve, I think our family probably expects to at least make some form of appearance today." His wife was silent, not even shifting from her position cuddled up against him as he made a move to slide out of the bed. "I can bring you something to eat in bed," he propositioned eventually, finding that seemed to do the trick for she loosened her grip on his t-shirt, allowing him to get up.

At the doorway into his office, he paused and looked back at Kate, curled up under the covers with her eyes squeezed shut. At a loss for what to do, he sighed and continued on his way, hoping some coffee might perk her up enough to get up.

Doing last minute wrapping, Alexis looked up before sighing in relief and continuing.

"You guys are up late."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Kate's just a bit worn out," he murmured, pulling a box of cereal towards him and delving a hand inside for a fistful of chocolate cornflakes.

"Ew, Dad, too much information."

"_From working too hard_," he corrected, pulling faces at his daughter, who just rolled her eyes, with his mouth full of cereal.

While he munched, occasionally grabbing another handful of chocolate flakes, he brewed the coffee and scrounged some frozen berries from the freezer, defrosting them under a stream of hot water, thinking they'd be nice with a pancake or two and some natural yoghurt.

Once everything was cooked and assembled on a tray, he abandoned the box of cereal and left his daughter to finish wrapping Kate's Christmas present.

He could tell from her breathing that Kate was still awake, but she didn't turn or open her eyes as he shuffled into the room and sat down at the head of the bed, carefully balancing the tray across his lap. Freeing up a hand, he smoothed one or two of her wild curls back. "Kate, honey, brought you some food."

One of her eyes opened a few millimetres, squinting at him and the tray bearing two cups of lovingly made coffee and a plate of pancakes for them to share.

"You have to eat."

Sighing, she rolled onto her back and pushed her body up until she was sat against the headboard, looking back at him with eyes that had been overtaken by a dull brown colour instead of her usual bright hazel irises. Once she looked settled, he handed her the cup of coffee and moved the tray across both of their knees. While he cut slices and dug in with gusto, Kate left her coffee on her bedside table and pushed around a berry, only spearing it with her fork when she felt Castle's eyes on her. He purposefully stuck to his half of the plate and made sure to leave a sizeable portion; hoping to make sure she at least ate a good amount before he took the tray and left it at the bottom of the bed, returning to the head of the bed to grasp Kate at the arms and pull her up, ignoring her soft groan of protest.

He probably didn't need to but Rick kept hold of her as he leaned into the shower cubicle and turned on the hot water, the sleeve of his robe earning a slight soaking in the process.

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><p>Dressed and freshly showered, some of the warmth had returned to her eyes but Kate was still quiet he thought as he led her out to the living room and stationed her on the couch with Alexis, <em>Home Alone<em> _2 _apparently being the chosen movie, before dashing into the kitchen to bring back a bowl of ginger-infused popcorn – a concoction of his own ingenuity – for her.

"I never did understand how they could manage to forget Kevin a second time," he heard Kate murmur as he decanted a cheap and boozy bottle of red wine into a saucepan and set it to heat on the stove, infusing the liquid with orange, cinnamon sticks and some nutmeg. "You'd think after the first time they'd be checking he was still with them every five seconds."

He smiled as his mother descended the stairs, obviously having let herself in and gone straight up to the spare bedroom to stow her overnight bag.

"Katherine, daring, you look exhausted," she exclaimed with her usual lack of tact as she settled into a chair.

Kate's lips tightened into a half-smile, half-grimace before she waved away Martha's concern with an excuse about work stress and made some sort of silver lining from the fact that she was going to be relaxing for a few days as they celebrated Christmas. He could hear from the kitchen how hollow it sounded; he just couldn't tell whether his mother had quite caught onto it as well. That question was answered for him moments later.

"Richard, what is that delicious smell?"

"Mother, you know it's mulled wine," he answered, turning to find his mother hurrying across the loft like he hadn't yet replied, urgent inquisitiveness portrayed in every movement and expression.

"Be a dear and pour me a glass?"

As he pulled down a wine glass and set about ladling out some of the seasonal drink without any of the flavourings, his mother pulled him close and murmured into his ear.

"Is something the matter with Kate?"

He sighed and set the wine glass down, his lips sinking into a frown and mirroring the hunch of his shoulders.

"Things not working out in the bedroom department-"

"-Oh God, Mother," he admonished.

"What? It's nothing I haven't done before. It's not like Alexis and I haven't hear-"

Cutting her off again before her tone could attract either his daughter or wife's attention, Castle corrected her assumption with a tight-lipped mutter. "Trouble conceiving, Mother; not our… Our sex life is fine."

"Just fine?" his mother queried though.

"It's great! Can we stop talking about this now?"

Martha arched an eyebrow at him but otherwise kept whatever other comments she had to herself, instead telling him, "Go for a walk, just the two of you. Alexis and I can hold the fort down here; get everything ready for Jim's arrival and for tomorrow. You need to cheer up Katherine."

Picking up the glass once more, he ladled out one more spoonful and then mopped up a trail of red wine down the side before handing it to her.

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><p>"Oh would you look at that?" Martha's voice drew all of their attention. "It's snowing."<p>

Rick wondered what his mother was doing until she looked away from the window and back at him, jerking her head in Kate's direction. Pushing as much enthusiasm into his voice as possible, he grabbed his coat and asked, "Hey, Kate, you wanna go out for a walk?"

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><p>The snow refused to settle on the rain-slicked ground without melting but as they walked side by side and fluffy clumps clung in Kate's hair. By no means was it a strong flurry, but her hair was still dampened by the time they stopped and she broke her eyes away from the Rockefeller Centre Ice Rink to turn her questioning gaze upon him.<p>

"Castle?"

"We're not skating," he assured her. The ice was full of people, clumsy kids, laughing teenagers, couples holding hands and even a few people obviously part of a group grabbing at each other each time they made a circuit. So busy was it that the skate hire booth appeared to be all out of boots. "Just thought you'd like the memories." He shrugged, thinking about the picture of young nineteen year old Kate with her mother at the very same ice rink and took her hand, warming his fingers in her glove for a moment before tugging to get her moving again. "What's going on, Kate?"

She hummed something; her attention quite clearly elsewhere.

"Kate?"

He followed her gaze to a little girl struggling to get the adjustable buckles of her ice skates done up. Squeezing her hand to get her attention once more, Castle led the way away from the ice and the noise, stopping outside a coffee shop just around the corner. He held the door for her and helped her with her coat and scarf once they'd secured a table, laying them over his chair to save it while he went to make their orders.

"Coffee?" he asked over the din of talking customers and the clamour of the barista banging the portafilter on the countertop. Despite it being Christmas Eve, it was no less busy in the shop than it was outside it; New Yorkers obviously hurrying to grab last minute items.

She shook her head and requested a hot cocoa instead.

Even though the staff had offered to bring over their order, he stayed at the counter until it was ready. His eyes rested on Kate the entire time, however, wondering how he was supposed to help. He hadn't missed the fact that her morning cup of coffee had gone untouched. It was significant, he thought.

When he returned to the table though, prepared to have to perform his own interrogation; Kate only let the warmth of the latte glass seep into her fingers for a moment before speaking.

"What if there's something wrong?"

"Something wrong with what?"

"With me," she said, barely pausing before she asked, "What if I can't have kids, Castle?"

"Then we'll figure something out, Kate," Castle promised. "There are other options; fertility treatment, surrogacy, adoption. But, Kate, one negative test doesn't mean anything."

"I know… I just, you know, I just thought it would be easy, that we'd hardly have to try at all and it'd just…happen."

"It still could be," he argued gently. "Kate, you don't know there's anything wrong. Why don't we wait a while, keep trying, and if nothing happens _then _we'll start thinking about the 'what if's, go to a fertility doctor and have some tests? Yeah?" He took her silence for agreement and tried turning the conversation to something else; hoping to distract her, bring back the lively spirit his family had become accustomed to over the last year.

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><p>Walking back past the ice rink, their joined hands swung between them and Kate bent his ear with the full story of ice skating with her mother.<p>

"I think she envisioned me being good enough to go professional." Kate snorted at the thought, remembering her first few steps before she promptly did a perfect imitation of _Bambi_. After a few sessions, she could whizz around a rink quickly though. "I was good but not _that _good."

"You're telling me I could be married to a figure skater? That would be so much better!"

"Shut up," she muttered, shouldering him playfully.

"Seriously though? You could have been a figure skater?"

Shaking her head, Kate replied, "No, Rebel Becks was too cool to go to daily training sessions at six AM even if her parents had offered to pay for a coach and everything. I still have some stuff I can do though, enough to show off at a public rink like this."

"We are definitely coming back," Castle exclaimed, desperate to get Kate on the ice one day so he could watch.

Kate chuckled, but didn't refuse.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! I'll endeavour to get a chapter up next week if possible. **


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Oh my God, you guys are all so lovely! Thank you so much for your nice reviews and for being so understanding of my situation – and dear anon, I'm not angry with you or anything. I just wanted to be able to respond to you to let you know why I can't update very often all the time – trust me, if I had a choice, I would **_**so **_**rather write this story than write my dissertation. **_**Le sigh.**_** Anyways, I just wanted to say a very big thank you for everything you guys said, so now I've done that, I'll shut up.**

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><p>Christmas Day dawned with little excitement for Kate, any and all snow gone with no evidence it had ever fallen. Unsurprisingly, like the nine year old he was, Castle was awake before her, ready to whisper into her ear.<p>

"Merry Christmas, Kate."

She peered blearily at him, smiling sleepily as he pressed his own unrestrained happiness onto her lips. She hummed, hands appearing at his sides as he rose over her, elbows digging into the mattress beside her head while his hands smoothed her hair off her face.

"Ready to get up?" he asked. "There might be a few surprises for you out there."

"Mmm," she deliberated, allowing her hands to wander. "How about you come shower with me first?"

"I like the way you think, Mrs Castle."

Rising to his knees, Castle pulled Kate into a sitting position and then he couldn't resist. She was at the perfect height, her forehead resting against his collarbone as his arms banded around her back and brought her in tight to his torso, his nose brushing her scalp.

"Thought you said we needed to get up," she mumbled, nudging her head onto his chin and manoeuvring herself out of his warm hold. She swung her legs out her side of the bed and reached back only for one of her husband's hands, tugging him after her and into the bathroom.

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><p>Showered – and sated – the pair of them exited the bedroom with dopey grins and interlinked limbs, still quietly laughing to themselves until Martha surprised them, her voice coming out of the blue.<p>

"Anyone would think you hadn't been on your honeymoon."

Kate shared a look with her husband, snorting as they she realised they were enjoying the exact same reaction but withdrawing her hand from his back pocket all the same.

Sobering, Rick asked, "Isn't Alexis up yet?" The fact that his mother – who had likely been finishing off the mulled wine into the wee hours of the morning – was sat on the couch beside Jim, with a coffee and an old magazine, looking fresh-faced, while his daughter was nowhere in sight threw him for a loop.

"I'm here," Alexis called, skipping down the stairs with a box under her arm. "Just had to go and get this." Castle knew what it was – ever since she was twelve, Alexis had taken to keeping his Christmas presents somewhere in her room to stop him snooping under the tree – and rubbed his hands together in glee as he took in the size of the box.

"So, presents?"

Kate opened her mouth to protest but he'd already dived towards the tree, shifting any and all presents that didn't bear his name off to the side.

"There's a pot of tea on the counter for you, Kate," Martha said, nodding towards the kitchen and waving away Kate's smiled thanks.

When Kate returned to perch on the side of Rick's chosen armchair, she found she had already amassed quite a pile of gifts to open. Alexis, Martha and her father were in the process of unwrapping their first presents while Castle had already torn open a couple of things and begun creating a mountain of wrapping paper in the middle of the floor.

Alexis held up a pair of earrings, eyes widening as she realised the small stones set into them were in fact genuine lapis lazuli stones, and gushed, "Dad, Kate… thanks!"

Castle chuckled – surprisingly looking up from his own presents long enough to see Alexis' grateful and enthusiastic face.

"You like them?"

"I love them, Kate!"

"I'm glad." Smiling, Kate watched with interest as Alexis picked up another present – the woolly jumper, she knew, recognising the wrapping paper she and Castle had used – and her father finally finished unwrapping his new fishing gear.

"It's got a light attachment, Jim," Rick told her father, excitement spilling out of him at the gadget-infused fishing rod they'd bought him. She tuned out for a minute, only coming back to herself as Castle nudged her thigh with the back of his hand. "You're not opening anything," he pointed out.

She shrugged. "Just enjoying seeing everyone else open theirs. Besides, one of us needs to be paying attention."

Ignoring her jibe about his absorption with his own gifts, Rick leaned forward and picked up a present from her pile, one which he recognised as having been wrapped by Alexis the previous day, one which he was curious to see opened. His daughter hadn't asked him for ideas for what to buy her stepmother, so he had absolutely no idea what it could be.

"How about you open this one? And I'll take over the watching for a minute?"

Kate met his eyes as she took the present from his hands, only tearing her eyes from his to look as she slid a finger under the edge of the paper and eased the end up, allowing her to pull out a metallic silver cardboard box. Castle took the empty wrapping paper from her, scrunching it into a ball and lobbing it into the pile of torn paper in the middle of the room even though it could easily have been saved and reused. Inside the box, Kate found first a note.

_Kate, _

_Because one day your stories about Dad are going to sell more than his stories about you._

_Love Alexis_

Under the slip of paper, Kate found an exquisitely bound notebook; its smooth leather cover only bore one word: Memoirs. At her side she could see Rick's indignant gaping mouth out of the corner of her eye.

"Alexis, thank you. This is- this is great."

His daughter blushed slightly, smiling and ducking her head.

"Now, how about this one?" Rick asked, handing her a second present, one this time that he knew the contents of.

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><p>By the time all of the presents once under the tree had been opened, Kate had also received a new wool coat, jade in colour, from Rick as well as a copy of Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography presumably acquired through his publishing connections since it was not yet even on the shelves in hardback. Martha had given her a beautiful patterned scarf and her father had bought she and Rick a set of photo frames to be hung on the wall, only one of which was filled by a picture from their wedding of them enjoying the first dance.<p>

While she, Alexis, Martha and Jim had tidied their gifts into neat piles, Rick was sprawled on the floor among his, investigating some of his gadgets individually and it was then that he noticed he hadn't received anything from Kate.

And when he voiced that to her, her only response was a murmur up against his ear. "Your present kind of requires us being _alone_."

He shivered in delight, missing her hot breath the second she pulled away.

With the presents out of the way, out came the food, much of it having been prepared the previous evening and stuck in the oven earlier in the morning on Alexis' watch. When they'd eaten their fill, Rick dashed back into the living room on eager feet and returned with the two _Star Lord Nerf Guns _he'd purchased, handing one to Alexis and taking the other for himself. Though they could only fire a total of four _Nerf _bullets before needing to be reloaded, Alexis and Rick continued to dart around the room, firing wildly at one another and scrounging bullets on the floor once they ran out of the spares in their pockets.

Doing the tidying and cleaning, Jim and Martha looked on in bemusement with Kate until her phone rang and she had to excuse herself to take the call from her boss away from Castle and Alexis' shouts.

"Sir?" Kate found herself frowning as she answered.

"Detective Beckett, I'm afraid I've received some news from the officers on duty today." The breath froze in Kate's lungs. "A fourth body matching the Triple Killer MO has been discovered. Preliminary findings from the team on site indicate that our victim is from the same timeframe as the murders of Carrie Richards and Thea Mathison."

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><p>Rick glanced at Kate as she returned from their bedroom, noticing the distracted glaze to her eyes and being punished for his redirected attention by a hit on the forehead from Alexis's blaster.<p>

"Ow," he complained, rubbing at the spot. "Truce?"

"The duel will continue later, Quill," Alexis replied, putting on a deeper voice then saluting him with a hand and a grin as she dropped down onto the couch.

"Hey, Kate, where'd you go?"

His _Nerf _gun was still in his hand as his arm moved across her back.

"Gates called," she muttered, eyes flicking up to his. He only had to guess once why the Captain would be calling on Christmas Day, and the answer was easily confirmed by the dark depths in Kate's eyes.

"You don't have to go in do you?"

She shook her head, hand rising to soothe his sudden disappointment. "CSU are already at the crime scene, there's an ME and Jones can supervise the uniforms on duty today to organise the area canvas. I'm definitely going to have to go in tomorrow now though."

He nodded, relieved, coiling his own free hand around the one she had rubbing circles into his chest.

"Richard! Katherine!" his mother called. "You're going to miss _Trivial Pursuit_!"

"We never can get a moment's peace, can we?"

Castle sighed and, abandoning his blaster on the kitchen counter, walked side by side with Kate to the dining room table.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I apologise if this makes no sense – I have a pretty bad virus at the moment and I'm running on like 3 hours sleep and caffeine. Fun times! (Sorry also that it's so short!)**

**Anyway, thank you so much for continuing to read and for leaving lovely reviews!**

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><p>"Castle!"<p>

Her voice startled him out of his reverie; memories of unwrapping pale, peachy skin from the contrasting, red sheer ribbon set against it fading as he instead looked into a set of dark-rimmed eyes. The light blush on his wife's face said that she knew exactly where his mind had taken him.

"What?" he asked.

Hissing, she responded, "We're in the middle of the precinct, Castle. Can't you just keep your mind out of the gutter for once?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have given me _such a good present_." The resultant lascivious ogling he gave her body only earned him an elbow in the ribs, reminding him that he was supposed to be listening to the briefing on the latest victim. Only when Kate moved to stand in front of the assembled detectives and uniforms was he able to fully focus on what was going on around him rather than what had happened the previous night.

"In light of this fourth victim, a victim which matches the MO of the murders of Carrie Richards and Thea Mathison, we now believe that we're looking for two different killers. Ann Gibson's homicide is going to be reassessed."

While Kate briefed the team they'd assembled, Castle scanned the murder board behind her, blinking when the scrape of chairs alerted him to the fact that everyone was making a move.

"Hey," Kate said to him, reappearing beside him and setting down the manila folder on Ann Gibson's murder she'd held all through the briefing onto her desktop. "You ready to go?" Grabbing his coat from his chair, Rick pushed himself away from her desk and straightened, pulling the long wool coat on and winding his scarf around his neck with a smile. Kate rolled her eyes but busied herself with getting her own winter wear, including her new coat, on.

"So, where are we going?"

"Back to the shelter. I want to get a more definitive timeline on Ann's movements, find out when she was last seen there."

Castle nodded, noticing Esposito and Ryan also gearing up. "What about the guys? Where are they going?"

"Ryan said he'd head to the morgue and get the autopsy results from the ME. Espo's going to speak with Rayna Thornton's boss." Kate shrugged. "Come on. If we hurry up we can be there for the lunch rush."

"We _want _to be there for the lunch rush?"

Kate ignored her frowning husband and moved off for the elevator, calling back, "Castle? You comin'?" without even turning around.

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><p>The culmination of two separate teams of investigation was a breakthrough in one case. Unfortunately for Castle, it wasn't the case he really wished they'd solve. He was happy to have got justice for Ann Gibson, to have charged Todd Victor with her murder, after testimony from one of the other soup kitchen customers who had seen their perp threatening Ann just days before. With that statement, getting a search warrant for Victor's apartment hadn't taken long and the idiot was arrogant enough that he'd kept the green and white rope he'd used to murder Ann, believing that he'd never even be a suspect as he'd attempted to link the act with the existing Triple Killer style murders.<p>

The interview had been pitiful really. It had taken Victor all of about five minutes to crack, but Castle was still just as disgusted as his wife as the man confirmed that he worked the homeless shelter with the intention of coercing sex from the women who stopped by. He'd been unable to keep the revulsion off his face, staying silent as Kate attempted to get all of the facts, half-wishing Todd had not confessed. A guilty plea wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing the sick excuse for a human being would serve out more years in prison.

As the homicide department gathered around the bullpen for the second time that day, the Captain stepped out from her office.

"Charges have officially been filed against Todd Victor for the murder of Ann Gibson. As I'm sure you all suspected, Victor is not behind the other homicides so our work is far from over. I want you all in fresh tomorrow morning to continue work on the Rayna Thornton case, but for now I just wanted to say thank you for a job well done." Beckett allowed herself a smile, nodding at her boss as Gates met her eyes for a moment before bidding them good evening with a simple, "Detectives."

Espo and Ryan appeared on either side of her and Castle, both looking serious amongst the other cops celebrating a case closed.

"Something you two gotta see," Esposito muttered, flashing his eyes left and right before pulling an evidence photo from inside his jacket. Kate took the photo, brow creasing as she recognised Carrie Richardson with...

"Is that Carrie?" Castle asked, peering over Kate's shoulder at the image. "With Tyson?"

"Sure looks like 3XK," Ryan said, looking as angry as he sounded.

"I found it in Rayna's desk," Espo explained. "Along with this..." After another furtive glance, he pulled a second item from his jacket – not a photo this time, but a handwritten note. "I compared it with everything in the records and evidence files we had on him, could be his handwriting."

_Thought I'd gone? I thought you knew by now that things would never be that easy with me. _

Castle felt bile rising in his throat.

"He planted the note and the photo."

Kate looked at her husband, worried by the flat tone of his voice.

"There won't be any evidence of him doing it though, not unless he wants there to be."

Ryan nodded. "I already checked through all the CCTV Espo brought back. There aren't any cameras inside the offices; they only cover the entrance. No sign of him."

Kate chewed her lip. "He's really back then." Any hope she'd harboured over their killer being a copycat had disappeared the second she recognised Jerry Tyson's laughing sneer in the picture of him with one of their victims.

"Without any proof that this photo is recent, Gates won't believe us though."

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><p><strong>AN: Apologies again for the short length and any mistakes in this. If I wasn't ill, I could probably have made it longer and less of a summary-filler-type chapter. I wanted to get something out to you guys though after not doing so last week. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: It's taken me a bit longer than I wanted to write this chapter, so sorry about that. I wasn't really sure exactly where I wanted it to go… And then I kept getting block in 500 word instalments and I'm still not really sure about this but, oh well. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. **

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><p>"So we have no proof that Tyson murdered Carrie Richards, Thea Mathison and Rayna Thornton?"<p>

"Sir, the picture was found on Rayna's desk-"

"-Nothing concrete?"

Castle sighed and Kate's fingers clenched, instinctively wanting to curl around his hand and squeeze. Had they not been stood in the Captain's office, having just explained the new evidence, she would have.

"Nothing that proves anything other than Tyson knowing Carrie in some way," Kate acknowledged. "But, Sir-"

Gates interrupted her again. "Until you find convincing evidence, Beckett, that Jerry Tyson was involved in the deaths of these three girls, my hands are tied. We ran his aliases, his known associates, any assets in his name but the man is in the wind. He's wanted for over seven murders, trust me, he ain't sticking around."

Espo and Ryan looked grim, frowns deeply etched. But nobody looked as miserable as Castle, who kept his eyes trained on his feet, scuffing his shoes along the Captain's polished floors and occasionally kicking one of the desk's legs.

"It's my fault that he's out, killing again," Castle muttered as they left, all four of them finally packing up their belongings for the night.

"Castle-" Kate began, only to be cut off by her husband shaking his head.

"No, it is. I didn't realise he was 3XK quick enough and then I let him get away again last autumn. I should have just shot him and let you cuff him, but I didn't, I shot him off the bridge and let him escape again, let him keep on killing. Over and over, I keep making the same mistakes with him."

Kate stared at him for a moment, completely silent with- yep, pursed lips, he noted upon looking up. Averting his eyes once more, Rick kept his intent gaze on a particular knot in the wood right beside Beckett's desk as he waited for her to finish tidying her workstation and pull on her coat. He had to blink and sharpen his eyes' focus, having entered somewhat of a daze in the few short minutes he had been waiting, when he felt Kate's fingers wiggle between his own, tugging insistently for attention.

"Let's go do something," she suggested.

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><p>"I thought you wanted to do something," Castle muttered, leaning on his forearms against the metal railings preventing him from falling into the Hudson. He had no idea why Kate had brought him to Riverside Park nor why she had walked him straight to the riverfront and then turned around to view the boulevard instead.<p>

"We are, Castle. We've gone for a walk," Kate told him.

He studied the amber glow of the streetlights on the water, wondering if the water had been as cold as it was now when he'd sent Tyson tumbling into it; she watched the cyclists passing in the evening, all of them heading home, each as oblivious of anyone else's troubles as the next cyclist or walker.

"It's not your fault, you know, Castle. Not yours or Ryan's. His crimes aren't on you, Rick. They're on him just like every other murderer."

"But I could have stopped him."

"Don't you think there have been times where I've gone through this, torturing myself over what I could have done differently? Convinced myself that I've failed?" Castle stayed silent. "This job, it comes home with you Castle, but you can't let it control your life. You can't start second guessing yourself." Rubbing his arm, she briefly squeezed. "Come on, let's go get some dinner."

Her fingers tangled with his. Though her slim digits were cold without her gloves, somehow they still brought warmth to his own.

"You wanna eat out?"

"I don't mind," Castle mumbled, shrugging even though she couldn't see him when she was walking ahead.

"Let's go to _Q3_," she suggested anyway.

They hadn't been back to the restaurant in a long time – they were probably overdue a visit to Maddie's up-market establishment anyway. And while maybe neither of them were in the mood for her high school friend's cheer and insistence on a gossip, at least they could count of the promise of good food, a table without making a prior reservation and all at a reduced price.

He let her drag him back through the park, stood idly as she hailed a cab and then pushed him into the back of it. To the driver he probably seemed drunk, or worse, drugged, so he forced a bright smile onto his face and tightened his hand around Kate's. Fake it till you make it, right?

* * *

><p>The wine, a treat she hadn't indulged in for over a week, made her lose her inhibitions quicker than he thought possible. Her booted foot rested against the outside of his lower leg, not even moving. Her hand, however, refused to remain still. Her thumb kept up a monotonous sweep back and forth over his knuckles. Her fingers unfurled and ran along his own digits only to slide back around the side of his palm.<p>

Her head fell back on a laugh, mouth wide and teeth showing as he cracked a joke he was sure wasn't half as funny as she made out. Still, it brought the first genuine grin of the night out of him. Maybe her suggestion to do something wasn't such a bad idea.

"Can I interest either of you in a dessert this evening?" One of Maddie's waitresses asked, smiling as she looked between the two customers.

"What do you say, babe? You want dessert?"

"Sure, we can get dessert," Castle answered, his intent gaze upon Kate needing no interpreting by her or the waitress who began to blush.

"I'll bring you the menu."

"Think you freaked out the server," Kate teased upon her hasty exit.

His eyebrows shot up at her assertion that _his _flirting had been what sent the waitress running for the hills. "Me? You're the one with the foot in my lap!"

At his words, her ankle flexed, the toes of her shoes pressing firmly into his lap and finding that his pants have grown awfully tight in a matter of minutes. Her teeth cut into her lip and a small groan slipped loose of his lips at the sight of it. Nostrils flaring, she pulled her foot back down to the floor and leaned forwards over the table, voice a sultry whisper as she said, "How 'bout we take the dessert to go?"

* * *

><p>Unsurprisingly the chocolate fudge cake they ordered and left the restaurant with in a box, spent more time on Kate's body, being licked away inch by tantalising inch until she was gasping and pulling him up to meet her lips by the grip of her fingers tangled in his hair and around his ears.<p>

"Stop teasing," she mumbled, pushing the words against his mouth with a kiss.

It was sticky, his palms catching on her hips in the remnants of fudge sauce and smearing it all the way down her leg as he trailed his hand down to hook around her knee and hitch it around his own hip. Both of them were going to have to have a thorough shower when they were done – or at least half-way done – but the second he pushed into her and her head fell back on a groan, exposing the long line of her neck to his teeth and tongue, he couldn't care less. For him, there was no better way to forget than in her body.

* * *

><p>Bodies still wet from the shower, they barely towelled off before falling into bed out of exhaustion. The sheets were damp, Kate's hair leaving wet trails across her pillow as it fanned around her head, but in the warmth of the Loft – the thermostat set high – neither of them felt a chill, not while they were cocooned together. One of his knees had nudged in between hers, solid and hot like the arm secured around her back, holding her against his chest. Her breath blew out over his collarbone on each exhale until she fell asleep and her breathing changed into something slow with the occasional quiet snore or snuffle, a lullaby he'd long since grown used to.<p>

* * *

><p>He woke to a crash and a scream that sent his heart thundering. At his side, Kate was just as bewildered, but neither of them hesitated in lurching out of the bed and out to the living room, barely remembering to grab robes and hastily pull them closed.<p>

"Dad!"

"Alexis?!" Castle flipped the light switch, forgetting to wince at the sudden brightness as his eyes locked onto his daughter's horrified and panicked face. "What is it?"

Alexis dashed across the space, crashing into her father's chest with a kind of desperation she hadn't had since she was a child and woke up one night after a particularly bad dream that she could no longer even recall.

"He was here! He was in the house!"

"Alexis," Castle murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her spine as he tried to calm her. "What are you talking about? Who was in here?"

"3XK, Dad!"

A look at Kate sent her to the safe to get her service weapon and back-up piece. While she went room by room, sending Martha down to the safety of the living room, Rick sat Alexis on the sofa and filled a new glass with water to replace the one she'd dropped on the floor out of shock.

"Take a sip of this," he instructed, squatting in front of her and pushing the glass into her hand. Only when she'd had a few mouthfuls did he take it back and leave it on the coffee table behind him. Hands resting on Alexis' knees, squeezing once, he asked, "Tell me what happened."

"I- I couldn't sleep so I came down to grab a drink and I was about to go back to bed with it and I saw someone out of the corner of my eye by the door to your bedroom. I dropped my glass – sorry, I'll clean that up-"

"Don't worry about it," Castle interjected, squeezing her knees again to get her to continue. Kate returned and stood silently, listening as Alexis spoke once more.

"I screamed and then he ran over to the window and-" Both Alexis and Castle watched as Kate moved to the window Alexis had pointed at – the only one with fire escape access – and pushed open the frame, stepping out.

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"No, Dad," Alexis replied, voice vehement as she pushed off the sofa. "I saw him. I've seen the pictures, I know it was him. It was Tyson."

Kate stepped back through the window looking just as shaken as his daughter as she said, "He was here, Castle. I found this wrapped around the fire escape." Between two fingers she gingerly held a tangle of blonde hair, no doubt belonging to one of their victims. "I'll call the guys and CSU."

* * *

><p>Both of them stood behind the sofa, dressed once more, as Ryan and Esposito took a statement from Alexis and the CSU guys dusted the surfaces and the window frame for prints. The hair Kate had found had already been bagged and was ready to go back to the lab with the rest of the samples CSU collected. It was gone three am but nobody was thinking about sleeping – not Alexis or Martha and certainly not Rick or Kate. They had no idea how he'd managed to gain entry to their apartment again, but somehow he had and the space felt violated.<p>

Castle couldn't turn and look around the living room without imagining Tyson there, touching his things and smirking about something. It made his hands ball into fists and left a dry lump in his throat. They had to do something, stop him somehow because he couldn't keep doing this. Every time he thought he was moving on, Tyson rose up again like some spectre haunting him, dogging his every step like he was privy to the inner workings of his mind and knew exactly what choices he would make, like he was always there in the fringes of their life.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for your continued support of this story! **


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: I'm gonna ask everyone to please pay attention to the AN at the end of this chapter since that's where the important stuff is!**

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><p>It had taken the best part of the morning to convince his mother and Alexis that moving into a hotel for the time being was the best option. He'd had the penthouse suite booked in seconds after a quick phone call on a secure NYPD line but his mother had insisted a man on the door and a squad car keeping watch from the street was enough to persuade Tyson from breaking in again.<p>

Esposito and Ryan, Kate, they'd all tried. But she refused to be won over.

In the end he'd sent Kate off to the precinct without him. A quick shower and she'd been on her way with a travel cup brewed with fresh coffee as soon as she was dressed, while he continued to skulk around the kitchen in his robe, propping himself over the counter with an elbow. After five hours, CSU had finally finished their sweep of the Loft and all its surfaces and were packing up. There'd already been a few arguments about whether he could make coffees – the head of the unit had eventually stepped in and informed the inferior forensic techs to focus on taking prints in the kitchen first so they could stop worrying about him contaminating evidence.

When he arrived at the precinct, having lost the battle to convince his mother (who had determined she could go back to Kate's old apartment regardless of his arguments that Tyson without a doubt knew about that place too), his eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep yet his hands jittered from the caffeine he appeared to have overdosed on to stay awake. He didn't bother stopping by Kate's desk, even though he still wore his coat. There was no point when she wasn't there.

"What have we got?" he asked, opening the Captain's door without knocking first.

* * *

><p>"I thought you said he'd be on the run," Castle growled, unable to keep his temper on a leash anymore. It had been gnawing away at him all morning, worsened by the hours spent convincing his mother and daughter to move into the safety of a hotel, doubled in intensity when Ryan had broken the news that they had lost him on CCTV.<p>

"Mr Castle!" the Captain reprimanded.

"No, he was in my home!" He refused to be admonished for his emotions. He wasn't being irrational. Anything could have happened. "My daughter was there!"

"I'm aware of the situation-"

"-You said he'd be laying low and I listened to you. I let my guard down. You can't tell me that he's not going to bother us again, not when you down know him," Rick fumed, finding himself standing on his feet without remembering getting up from his chair.

Gates' eyes flashed fire and destruction, her voice steely as she sent Castle and Beckett from the room. His wife was a presence close at his back as he barged through the doorway, one of his shoulders brushing heavily against the frame and pushing him off balance as he stormed through to the break room. All of his tension left him in one big breath as he hunched over the counter and stared out the window with Kate's thumbs rubbing circles over the points of his shoulder blades.

"You okay?"

"Just…" His body shuddered, threatening to crumple on his unsteady elbows with the weight of everything he was carrying around on his shoulders. "It could have turned out so differently, you know. He was _in our home_, Kate. Again."

Her body pressed against his back, her arms coming up around his chest as she pressed her cheek into his spine, muffling her response.

"What do we do?" Castle sighed.

Kate drew back, as equally deflated as him.

"Come on, why don't we go to the hotel?" she suggested, only stumbling slightly to correct herself of her instinct to say home.

He allowed her to steer him from the break room, neither of them pausing to spare much of a glance back at the Captain he was almost certainly in trouble with and instead staying silent even during the short journey in the elevator. Only when they reached the car did Castle clear his throat.

"I, er, got the penthouse suite at the _Four Seasons_," he mumbled, focusing on pulling his seat belt across his body. "Thought it would feel more like home, you know?"

Reaching across the centre console, Kate captured his hand. "I'm sure it'll be perfect." A squeeze of her fingers before releasing him, it didn't feel like enough.

* * *

><p>Even though his mother and daughter had had the brief period he'd spent at the precinct to pack everything from the loft the four of them would need, he and Kate still managed to beat Alexis – and the security team escorting her – to the suite.<p>

"Like home, huh?" Kate asked, resisting the urge to whistle as she spun a slow circle to take in the three hundred and sixty degree view they had out over the city. She smiled, one of those gorgeous-light-dancing-in-her-eyes, ten thousand watt grins that never failed to ease the ache in his chest, as he chuckled and took a few steps to link his fingers through hers.

"Come on, I'll give you the tour."

"It's big enough that I need a tour?"

"Maybe tour was the wrong word," he conceded. The penthouse was mainly one room – only the two bedrooms and their en suites were walled off. Its open plan nature only served to heighten the views they were afforded of the city however. "We've got our own kitchen – smaller than either of us are used to though."

She scoffed and slapped at his chest. "This is the same size as the kitchen at my old apartment. It's fine."

Both of them turned as the swipe mechanism on the door beeped before it opened, a uniformed member of hotel staff entering first before Alexis and a plain clothes cop.

"Here we are," the bellhop said, setting two large bags down to the side of the door. Once Alexis and the many bags she'd managed to fill with their stuff were in the suite, the bellboy and officer ducked out of the room and the three of them were left in silence.

"So…" Alexis muttered. "What now?"

"Well we could unpack," Castle suggested half-heartedly. He and Alexis were in sync as they exclaimed, "Nah!"

"So which room do I get? The master, right?"

"Think again, daughter," Rick replied, turning her round by the shoulders to point out the bedroom she would be having. "How about we christen the kitchen? Homemade pizza night?"

He looked to Kate, eyebrows raised in question and she pulled her lips up. She knew how important it was to him to make things seem easy and normal, for Alexis' benefit if not his own. "Sure," she answered. "Alexis?"

"Sounds good to me. I'm just gonna take a shower though." She smiled weakly and pointed a thumb back over her shoulder.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Castle asked, sharing a concerned look with his wife.

"Yeah, just… I'm pretty tired. Spent all morning packing too so I didn't get a chance to shower earlier…"

"Okay, Pumpkin. We'll just make the dough, yeah? It'll need an hour or so to rise anyway."

Nodding her thanks, Alexis left with Rick's worried gaze resting on her back,

"You think she's okay?" he asked Kate, stepping through into the kitchenette and pulling open the stainless steel refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of milk. He was glad he'd had the foresight to ask the hotel staff to stock the penthouse when he made the booking. A quick check of the cupboards showed that they had purchased all of the ingredients he needed. "She seems quiet, a bit uneasy."

"She's gonna be fine, Rick. Anyone would be a bit upset and off-balance if they'd found Tyson in their apartment. She just needs a bit of time. And she has that. She's not going back to college for a couple of weeks, and a hotel with twenty four hour access to the pool and the spa is perfect for her right now. Trust me."

"I do."

Smirking, Kate let her hand sneak into his back pocket, tilting her body into him as her head fell to his shoulder.

"You've said that already, you know."

He huffed a laugh, waiting until he had poured enough milk into a saucepan so clean it looked brand new and set it over a low heat on the hob before he turned to face her and settled his arms around her.

"Always say 'I do' to you, Mrs Castle," he murmured. "Thank you."

"For what?"

He shrugged, his fingers lifting on her back. "For not fighting me on this even though you probably wanted to stay in the loft, right?" He knew he was right when she didn't answer. "It's just temporary, Kate, I swear."

"I know," she assured him. "Rick, if this is what you need…it's what you need. I will do whatever you need, okay?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've ended this here because I'm going to make a time jump of a couple of weeks and I didn't want to do that in the middle of a chapter. **

**As a heads up to you guys, I also now have a part time job… I'm going to continue to update as much as I can, but chapters might be a bit shorter and probably not on a regular schedule because my shifts are different each week. The good news is I've only got a few more weeks until my term/semester is over and I won't have any coursework to do. I figure that this story is probably going to be in the region of 45 chapters when it ends, and I'm hopeful that I can manage that by the end of May? (I'm setting that as a challenge to myself, by the way.)**

**Anyways, thank you for continuing to read. Your support means everything to me.**

**P.S. Apologies for being an idiot and forgetting to actually go back and put the hotel name into the chapter earlier... Believe me, I am facepalming majorly!**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Those of you who congratulated me on my job, thank you! You're all so lovely! (Thank yous also to everyone who reviewed in general, new followers too, and everybody reading. You all rock!)**

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><p>New Year was a quiet affair, at least by Castle standards. Sure, they dressed up and stayed up through midnight watching the Times Square celebrations. But there was no extravagant party to be held at the loft with close friends and family. Instead, Rick, Kate and Alexis joined the other hotel guests in the bar for a complimentary glass of champagne and some classy music. It was hard to feel jovial though when they weren't throwing in the New Year from the comfort of their own home, when the shadow of 3XK still hung over them.<p>

Two weeks had gone by and Jerry Tyson had all but disappeared once more. There had been no success with CSU's sweep of either his loft or Rayna Thornton's office. There was no CCTV footage of the man in the vicinity of either of the buildings beyond Broome Street or Broadway itself. Two weeks of nothing, and Castle was sick of it.

Alexis had stayed with them at the hotel for as long as she could, but eventually she had to go back to the dorms and it was just him and Kate. Kate, who was slowly going stir crazy at the near constant interruptions from the concierge team and housekeeping. After two weeks, she was desperate for some sense of normalcy. She wanted to return to the loft.

"Castle?" she asked one morning, tapping on his chest with a finger to make sure he was awake. An upturned smile and deep, pleased-sounding hum were the only response she got. "Are you awake?"

Pressing closer into his torso, Kate felt one of Castle's hands land on her hip and squeeze.

"I am now," he mumbled, fluttering his eyelashes at her as he battled with the desire to go back to sleep. He hadn't thought there was a better bed in the universe than his California king but the _Four Season_'s luxuriously soft mattress made him want to sleep through the day.

Kate propped herself on an elbow beside his shoulder, looked down at her husband, smiling as the right half of his lips ticked up into a grin.

"So what do I need to be awake for?"

He said it teasingly, eyes alight with intrigue because the number of things his wife would usually wake him for was a very small number. If it was a murder, the wakeup call was a whole lot more unceremonious – usually a startlingly loud cell phone or worse, the pinch of her fingers around a piece of his anatomy. The only other time Kate would purposefully pull him from sleep was if she was up for another round of what they'd usually started the previous night, which clearly wasn't the case that morning. Normally Castle's only warning of what was about to happen was her smooth lips roving his body. While he knew to expect neither of those situations, he was one hundred percent unprepared for his wife to move to her knees and face him, wringing her hands together, as she told him that she thought it was time for them to go home once more.

* * *

><p>He sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face, not letting up in his pacing. Kate was silent, motionless as she perched on the edge of one of the penthouse apartment's leather winged armchairs. They'd been arguing – well, discussing since neither of them was particularly angry; just overwrought – the issue for thirty minutes, having long since vacated the bed in favour of the bright and open living room. The sights and noises of the city filtering in through the massive windows had done little to soothe either of them.<p>

"It's been two weeks, Castle. If not now, when?" Kate finally asked when he braced himself against one of the windows and hung his head, looking down towards the streets below.

"I just need more time," he muttered but they both knew that wasn't true. They knew it wasn't true because there would never be enough time. The memory of Alexis' scream, her terrified expression and the feelings they had brought from within him when she'd explained what she'd seen would be impossible to forget.

"We could always move permanently out of the loft-"

She suggested it gently, but he cut her off with a sharp shake of the head, spinning around to face her with a look of desperation. "I don't want to, Kate. The Loft…it's the place where I raised Alexis, it's where we got together-"

Kate was off her feet in an instant, coming to him with hands stroking over the unshaven stubble covering his jaw.

"Then we won't. We'll do something else. We'll redo the paint, move around the furniture, finally throw out that ugly chair in your office, something."

His forehead dropped to hers.

"But what if he comes back?"

Swallowing, Kate fought to find comforting words. What was she supposed to say though. If Tyson was as Hell-bent on torturing them as he seemed, he wouldn't just continue to hide away wherever he'd slunk to after breaking into the Loft. He'd be back. She just to hope that when he did they'd be ready.

* * *

><p>With hindsight, maybe it would have been better to wait until the remodelling on the Loft was complete before they moved back in though. While they were out at the precinct through the day when the work to alter the layout of the rooms, fit new carpets everywhere and redecorate the walls, they still returned home to an apartment that was quite frankly messier than some of the crime scenes they'd visited.<p>

Kate had to remind herself that when it was done, it would be worth it. Rick was sacrificing some of his office space, but their bedroom was gaining ground, getting the space to fit a crib for when they needed one. Alexis' room had been redecorated to suit a mostly absent college student's needs and would transition easily into a guest bedroom should Alexis want to get a place of her own. The two actual guest bedrooms were also receiving a major facelift, though those were the last projects that would be undertaken after the bathrooms. Already the loft was a livelier space; the kitchen and still-largely open-plan living room were now painted in a bright hue of plum, the matte and grey cupboards creating the perfect contrast. Just walking in and seeing the space made it feel like a happier place, the type of place Kate couldn't help imagining coming back to only to have a bundle of children pile on top of her the second she was through the door.

The difference the bold colour statements made was noticeable to everyone who traipsed through the loft, but most of all to Alexis, who stopped by on a near daily basis to see the progress and, if she was being honest, check up on her father. It would seem that neither Kate nor her father were capable of keeping their hands off each other.

"You two are sickening," Alexis told them one morning as they made breakfast together, Kate's hand hooked through one of her dad's jean pockets. "Your honeymoon was months ago but you're still in the bubble, aren't you?" Kate blushed as she pulled her hand out of Rick's back pocket and twisted to flash his daughter an apologetic smile. "It's like you're glowing," Alexis muttered.

While Rick replied, saying something about there being nothing wrong with showing happiness while pointing a spatula at his daughter, Kate froze.

_Glowing_? She wasn't…was she?

It was a thought that played at the back of her mind through breakfast as she mentally tried to tie together her cycle and their bedroom activities. It was, well it was definitely possible. Something about the new shade of their bedroom, the way the blue sheets framed his body made her something of a tigress. He was just as insatiable though.

She was so distracted that she barely noticed Alexis hopping up from her stool at the breakfast bar – the same feature just with a new countertop – and only mumbled a goodbye as her stepdaughter left to get back across the city for her morning class.

"Hey, everything okay?" Castle asked, grabbing her empty plate and mug from in front of her. She shrugged but otherwise didn't respond, leaving him to prompt, "Kate?"

"She said _glowing_. You don't think-" Kate broke off. She couldn't say it, didn't want to jinx it.

Judging from the way Castle sucked in his breath and held it, he was just as cautious. "You want to take a test?"

"It couldn't hurt."

* * *

><p>It turned out that taking a pregnancy test again actually <em>could <em>hurt. Frustrated, Kate threw the negative test into the bathroom trashcan.

"Kate," Castle murmured, attempting to take her hands into his own only to have her pull away from him and lean over the sink on her elbows instead.

"I was being stupid. I couldn't have even been far enough long to be _glowing_ anyway." She spat the words out as Castle's hand smoothed down between her hunched shoulder blades.

"No, you were being hopeful, Kate. You were being eager and optimistic." She drew a shuddering sigh that vibrated through his palm before straightening and meeting her husband's gaze in the bathroom mirror, the light flashing off the watery surface of her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that Kate."

"No," she agreed, "just makes it hurt that much more though." He opened his mouth to give her reassurances only to find her fingers pinching his lips closed to stop him from speaking. "I know, I know, it'll happen."

Around her fingers he mumbled, "Yeah, Kate, it will." Rolling her eyes at his garbled speech, Kate released his mouth and turned back to the sink, twisting the cold tap round to release a stream of water which she caught in her cupped palms and threw into her face. Her make-up ran down her cheeks with the water, but what did it matter when her teary eyes had already smudged her thin outline of eyeliner and mascara? The black eye make-up and the slight rouging from her blusher along with her tan foundation stained the hand towel she buried her face in, emerging with flushed skin but clear eyes. "Okay?"

She took a cleansing breath. "Yea-no."

"No?"

He looked so concerned, Kate had to take hold of his hands and tug him into her until his wrists where cradled between them.

"Maybe not quite what I meant," she acknowledged, smiling gently. "I'm fine, Castle, or I will be." He squeezed her wrists at that, quirked his lips for a moment until she spoke again. "But I want to go to a fertility doctor."

He nodded, untangling one of his hands from hers to reach down into his pocket for his iPhone.

"You have anyone in mind?" he asked, handing the phone over to her. Her fingerprint was already scanned into the device, letting her unlock it and bring up the dialling pad.

"My gynaecologist will be okay for now," she murmured, concentrating on entering the right numbers. She hadn't had much reason to go to her gynaecologist before, other than for the yearly check-up, but she had a way with numbers, found them easy to remember after her academy training. The receptionist answered on the third ring, asking how she could help. "Hi, could I make an appointment with Dr Ahmed?"

"_I'll just check her schedule_," the receptionist answered. The few clicks of his computer mouse were audible in the silence of the phone connection while Kate waited, chewing on the inside her cheek with impatience until one of Castle's hands soothed along her jaw. "_Oh, I think we can squeeze you in tomorrow. Is four thirty any good__?_"

She'd be at work, but it would also be the end of the day. The Captain probably wouldn't mind if she skipped out early for an appointment.

"Four thirty is perfect," she replied after a moment's thought, needing no pause before rattling off her name and contact details to the professional man on the other end of the phone when he asked for them. When she was done, the line to her gynaecologist's office dead, she turned the phone back around to her husband. "You think you could make an appointment to, you know, get yourself checked? Just in case?"

He forced a smile and nodded brightly, taking the phone and letting Kate slip out of the bathroom while he dialled his own doctor.

* * *

><p>Neither of them slept particularly well. But it wasn't something they spoke of as they went through their morning routines, pausing in the middle of breakfast to admit the two workmen and the architect supervising all of the work into the apartment, before continuing out the door once they were ready for the precinct.<p>

The day passed slowly with a murder neither of them could - regrettably - fully concentrate on, until she ducked into Captain Gates' office and informed her that she had a doctor's appointment to get to.

"Okay, let's go," Kate said, emerging from the office again with set lips and nerves fluttering in her ribcage.

Castle was quiet in the car, only the quiet volume of a radio station filling the silence. When they drew up in the closest parking space Kate could find though, he reached across the centre console, securing one of her hands between both of his palms.

"Kate, whatever happens, you know I love you right? If you can't have kids, that doesn't change the way I feel about you. It doesn't change anything at all," he stressed, squeezing her hand tightly as if he could impress the message into her skin that way too.

She smiled briefly, tightened her fingers around his for a moment as she mumbled, "I know," before teasing her hand out of his grip and climbing out of the car.

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><p><strong>AN: Please don't hate me, lol. **


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Apologies for the delay in updating this story. I've spoken to one or two of you about it but basically, I just really needed to focus on my dissertation to get it done and sent to my supervisor for comments so I could edit it and get it ready for submission. I hoped to tide you guys over a bit by posting Best Laid Plans, which I'd had mostly written and ready to go for a while, but if you weren't reading that, I am sorry you've had to wait so long for this. **

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><p>Her pulse syncopated, erratic heartbeats that thundered in her ears one minute only to fall so quiet she could have believed the beat had arrested entirely if not for the fact that she had a band tightening around her arm and taking her blood pressure – tangible proof that her circulatory system was in fact still working.<p>

The doctor was full of smiles Kate was certain were meant to be reassuring, and she had Castle sat in the room with her, but neither of them could do much to relieve her of the tension stringing her body tight.

"Okay," Dr Ellison murmured, removing the cuff from her arm. "We'll just take some blood now then." As she spoke, the gynaecologist brought the needle and syringe over to the bed Kate was perched on. "Absolutely nothing to worry about, Kate. We just want to get a look at your hormone levels."

She nodded, forced her lips up at the corners into a rough approximation of a grin.

Her gynaecologist noticed of course, reached out and squeezed her arm briefly before fixing the tourniquet around it. "We'll get it all figured out, Kate."

* * *

><p>If she thought the appointment itself was bad, waiting for all of her results to come back was five days of pure Hell. It was fine for Castle. His doctor had been able to squeeze him in, have him submit a sample and get his results back in two days. It should have been a relief that his fertility was fine, but instead Kate's worrying merely increased tenfold. If it wasn't Rick, it was her, right?<p>

She wasn't menopausal just yet, but what if there was a problem with her eggs? Or what if her fallopian tubes were blocked? She expected Dr Ellison to call her in for an appointment any day and tell her that her uterus was badly shaped and about as inhospitable as the Kalahari Desert.

Her nails were a mess, chipped and flaky by the time she finally got the call. On the morning of her appointment, after a sleepless night, with bags under her eyes and her hair lacking its usual lustre, it probably wasn't possible for her to look any worse.

"Hi, Kate, come on in," her gynaecologist said, poking her head out around her office door. Nodding to the receptionist, Kate tightened her hold around Rick's hand before standing and leaving the waiting area. "Take a seat."

Silence reigned as Dr Ellison dug around in one of her drawers for the paperwork. Rick's leg bounced under the table. Her sweaty palm slid against his.

"Ah, here we are!" Dr Ellison exclaimed, smiling brightly across her desk at her patient. "Well, Kate, everything seems to be in working order medically. Your hormone levels came back perfect. And the ultrasounds we took don't reflect any problems with either of your ovaries or your uterus."

A relieved breath escaped her and she felt Rick's hand squeeze her own in response.

"So if there's nothing wrong with either of us-" Rick began, asking the question that she couldn't seem to.

"-Why haven't you been able to conceive?" Castle nodded. Setting down her pen, Dr Ellison surveyed the couple sat opposite her for a moment. "Well, it could be any number of things. Maybe the timing hasn't been quite right. Or your cycle has been slightly irregular, Kate, which given the nature of you job and the level of stress it can incur, is quite likely. Too much stress and you might not ovulate at all."

"So…what do we do?" Kate asked.

* * *

><p>When they left her doctor's office, they had a handful of leaflets about ways to alleviate stress and a bag of ovulation testing kits. It wasn't exactly an inspiring prospect, but it was far better than the one Kate had woken up with that morning.<p>

The baseline was simple. They just had to keep trying. It would happen.

With the rest of the day off work, it seemed like an idea to get a head start on Dr Ellison's recommendations for de-stressing. With Martha and Alexis gone, all they had to do was send the builders and decorators home for the day to have the Loft to themselves.

"So, we have the place to ourselves then. What do you want to do?" Castle asked.

If the renovations to the bathroom were complete, she'd have suggested making use of their new tub – a square monster of a Jacuzzi they'd had installed knowing full-well they'd probably only ever make use of it together. Instead though, she found herself looking at the collection of paint tins piled on top of one of the kitchen counters. The shades they'd had mixed had just come in for one of the guest bedrooms.

"How do you feel about doing a spot of painting?"

"Painting?" He dipped his head, determined to make eye contact with his wife. "You realise we just sent home the people we're _paying _to do that for us?"

Rolling her eyes, Kate threw her coat over the plastic-covered back of the couch (another new item only just delivered). "Yeah, painting. It'll be fun. We can do the second guest bedroom."

"Second guest room?" Castle asked, feeling a smile grow at the knowledge that his next question would give his wife pause. "Don't you mean the nursery?"

She spun, face slack with all the shock he'd been hoping for.

"Nursery?"

He shrugged. "Well it makes sense, right? The only time that room gets used is if my mother and your father are here at the same time, and I mean, how often does that happen," he replied, rambling until Kate cut him off with a finger at his lips and a blinding smile of her own.

"Sounds perfect to me. _But_…"

"But?"

"We planned a colour scheme for a guest bedroom; not a nursery."

Castle grinned and shook his head. "Wrong again. Go check the colours." Nodding towards the metal cans, he released Kate from his arms and followed her to the counter, reading the names of the shades from over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>She should have known when Castle agreed to paint with her that it would only end with mess. Not only were there paint splatters across the plastic sheeting put down to protect the floor, there were jungle green fingerprints all over her clothes. And her skin. Lying on her back, sweaty skin stuck to the plastic sheet, with him right beside her, she couldn't really find it in herself to complain though. Because once he had his hands on her, he <em>really <em>didn't want to let her go. And when he used his mouth on her like he had, she didn't really want him to either.

"We should probably shower off before the paint encrusts in places you _really _don't want it to get stuck," he mumbled, breathing just as heavily as her.

A breath of laughter escaped her and her head lolled to the left to look at him sprawled out almost identically to her.

"Seriously! I can feel the yellow paint drying on my butt."

That brought a full-on tears-leaking-from-the-corners-of-her-eyes cackle out of Kate, and only when the laugh had fully faded could she raise her arms up and murmur, "Okay, help me up."

* * *

><p>The next morning he grumbled something unintelligible into his pillow, letting the hand she'd picked up and tugged flop back onto her beside his sprawled out body.<p>

"Come on, Castle, I need to get up."

"No, stay in bed," he mumbled again.

"I need to go for a run."

"It's too cold to go running," he argued.

"You know what the doctor said, Castle, I need to stay relaxed and stress-free – running helps."

Before he could make a clever retort, she wrestled his hand away from her waist and rolled out of bed, not allowing him to pull her back into the warmth of his bare chest. Her sleepshorts were replaced with lycra running trousers, the material gripping her legs before ending just below her knees, while she tugged off the baggy t-shirt of his she'd long ago appropriated and pulled on instead a turquoise, neoprene jacket, finally looping her rubber armband around her bicep and pushing her iPod into it.

Giving him a quick peck on the lips, she told him, "I'll be back in half an hour. Run the shower for me?"

* * *

><p>She was breathing hard when she walked back through the front door, heading straight to the fridge for a bottle of cooled water.<p>

When she finally found her voice again, the water soothing her ragged throat, she called out for Rick, receiving no response. Frowning, she abandoned her iPod on the kitchen island beside the empty water bottle and went out in search of him, glancing around the deserted living room before heading through to his empty study. She expected him to still be in bed, probably having gone back to sleep the second she left and therefore having forgotten about her shower. But when she entered the bedroom, he wasn't still lying between the bedsheets; though the only sign of him having gotten up was the steam coiling under the closed bathroom door. She forgot all about searching for him and instead stripped off her sweaty running gear before pushing open the bathroom door.

There, in the shower, stood her husband.

She didn't think before, dodging the bits of the floors that were yet to be re-tiled, she walked over and pulled open the glass door. He turned on his heel at the sudden influx of cold air rushing against his back.

"Excuse me, I think you've stolen my shower," she said, arching one perfect eyebrow at him.

Smirking, he purposefully flitted his eyes around the large cubicle before replying, "I think there's more than enough room for two, don't you? You know, save water, save the planet and all." Without giving a pause, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in to the steamy cubicle. "So, would you say you're feeling de-stressed? Relaxed?"

Her lips met his in a fiery kiss, as she mumbled, "Definitely."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter because it was written in two sittings spaced **_**very **_**far apart and now feels like it got kind of purposeless…but it's fluffy at least…**

**If you're still reading, you're the best! A quick review with any thoughts would be very appreciated!**

**It might take me a little bit longer than a week to update this because I want a chance to sit down and fully plot out the remainder of the murder case since it's evolved a fair bit since I first got the idea for this story. I'll post a new chapter as soon as I can though! Thanks for continuing to read! I hope you can be patient a little bit longer for me - my university stuff is all almost over. My last exam is 8th May, so after that I shall be free to write and post almost whenever. **


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: I really have to thank you guys! A fair few of you suggested that they go on a holiday to de-stress and that idea gave me a lot of inspiration for where to take the storyline. So I hope you enjoy where the storyline goes from this point out. Also I really apologise for the massive delay in updating. I thought it was better to take a timeout to focus one hundred percent on my university exams which I'm glad to say are now over and I think went really well. I'm going to be making a push from here on out to get this story finished in a month or two though!**

* * *

><p>Kate woke to an empty bed the following morning; the ruffled sheets beside her where Castle normally slept spread eagled on his stomach had long since turned cold. And yet, the glance she spared the alarm clock revealed it was six thirty.<p>

Dragging her aching body from bed – and cursing the slovenly exercise routine she appeared to have fallen into – Kate padded out of the bedroom, her bare feet sticking to the plastic sheeting laid over the wooden floorboards with every step.

"Morning," Rick called from behind the breakfast bar, sounding far too chipper for the time. When he grabbed the carafe from the coffee machine though, Kate soon realised he'd managed to make his way through two thirds of the brew already. While he poured the dark liquid into a mug for her and grabbed the creamer to fix the strength, Kate studied him. She expected there to be dark circles below his eyes, the sure-fire sign that he'd spent more than half the night typing away at his laptop. His eyes were clear and bright though, wide and focused on his task while his hair, which usually stuck upright at the back – mussed from resting against the back of his office chair, looked washed and dried.

"What time did you get up?"

"Oh, I don't know. An hour or two ago." He shrugged and smiled as she leaned away from him, one of her eyebrows lifting. "I had some stuff to get ready," he said evasively, only waving her away when she enquired, "Stuff?"

"Seriously, Castle-"

"-So breakfast? The workmen will be here any minute so I'm going to make a fresh pot of coffee on but what can I fix you?" he asked, employing some very obvious misdirection. "I cut up some grapefruit and stuck it in the fridge earlier. You want some? I could whip up an ambrosia kind of thing?"

"Sounds good," Kate responded, giving him the eye because there had to be a catch.

"Great!" He clapped his hands once and spun to the refrigerator, pulling the door open with gusto and disappearing behind it for a moment, reappearing moments later with his arms full of berries and various citrus and tropical fruits. From the bowl on the counter he snagged the bunch of bananas, waggling his eyebrows at her as he snapped one off by the stalk and then held it in front of his mouth. "Kiwi?"

"Yeah but can you-"

"-scoop the seeds out first," he recited. "I know, I know. I _have _been married to you for three months."

Sipping at her coffee, the only one she was allowed during the day as per her doctor's orders, Kate watched him peel an orange and slice an apple, a handful of strawberries, a plum, the banana and the two kiwis.

"You want it with natural yoghurt or…"

"The yoghurt's fine," Kate assured him, unable to help wrinkling her nose at the idea of whipped cream at quarter to seven in the morning. At the knock on the front door, Kate rose from her stool and swept around the counter, pinching her husband's butt and laughing at his surprised jump as she passed.

"Mornin' Mrs Castle," Bill, the guy responsible for the tiling of the bathrooms said as he strolled through the open door and tipped his hard hat at her.

"Hi guys, come on in. Can we fix you a coffee?"

"I sure would love a cup of Joe to start the day," Jackson replied as he entered the loft. "How 'bout you, Don?"

"So long as Mr Castle's our barista," the painter replied with a wink at Rick.

"Don, please, I keep telling you. Call me Rick."

"Sure thing, Mr Castle!"

"Don," Rick cautioned with a laugh.

"Oops! Sorry!"

The group of men chuckled, standing around the breakfast bar until each of them had a steaming cup of coffee to take with them upstairs, heading into the bathroom and one of the guest rooms where they were working. With the workmen gone, Castle could get back to putting the finishing touches on Kate's breakfast, dropping the pecan pieces on the top, and set it down in front of her.

"Thanks, babe."

* * *

><p>"So are you going to tell me what had you up so early this morning?" Kate asked, pulling a brush through her hair and eyeing Rick across the room.<p>

"It was nothing. I just had some thinking to do."

"Thinking?" The teasing comment about him not doing that all too often went unspoken between them. "Thinking about what then?"

"Just 'cause you're a detective doesn't mean you're going to get things out of me that easily, Detective."

"Oh really?"

A sly grin tugged at Rick's mouth. "Really. I think you might have to employ some more _creative measures _to get me to reveal my secrets."

"Maybe later. We gotta get to the precinct."

Sliding her fingers between his, Kate tugged Castle out of the bedroom and towards the front door, only pausing to grab their coats before they were on their way, somehow managing to pull into the precinct garage in record time.

* * *

><p>Their arrival at the precinct was far less simple. From the moment they stepped out of the lift, it was clear something was abuzz. Three of the phones were ringing at abandoned desks, while the entire homicide floor seemed to be rushing around the bullpen.<p>

"Hey guys," Kate said in a haltering greeting to the boys as they hurried past. "What's going on?"

"Someone called in a sighting of Tyson," Ryan yelled over his shoulder as the two of them stepped into the lift, both checking over the holsters on their hips. Before the doors had closed, Kate and Rick were stepping into the lift with them.

"Where?"

"Warehouse in the Bronx."

"You guys got the address?" At Espo's nod, Kate continued, "We'll follow you there."

The boys nodded, striding out of the elevator the second its doors opened in the underground garage. At their car, Espo made a quick inspection of the boot, drawing out only his Remington before hopping into the passenger seat.

"We need shotguns?" Castle asked.

She nodded. "SWAT teams too."

Rick pressed his lips together and ducked into the car as Kate started the engine, reversing out of her parking space and following the boys out into the streets. With the sirens, navigating the bustling traffic north through Manhattan was fast, but even so, the SWAT teams still beat them to the warehouse Tyson had reportedly been sighted entering. While the SWAT guys finished checking over their weapons and began moving into position, the three detectives hurried to pull on their bulletproof vests.

"Kate?"

She twisted to face Castle, noticing slowly that he was yet to pull on his Writer vest. She hadn't even bothered asking him to stay in the car because she had thought he would be determined to be there when they brought Tyson in, that he would need to watch to be sure it was really over. It wasn't a satisfied expression on his face though, it was a worried one.

"Everything okay?"

"About what I was thinking about this morning?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking maybe we should take a step back from the case."

"What?" Drawing him aside by the elbow, Kate asked, "Castle, what's going on?"

"I was thinking about how to make things easier for you, so you don't get stressed out by everything," he explained quietly, glancing over his shoulder at the guys waiting impatiently for them.

"One second, babe."

Kate dashed away, conversing too quietly with Esposito and Ryan for him to hear, but then she was back and the guys were joining the SWAT team getting ready to storm the warehouse.

"Okay, I'm all yours," she promised, flashing him a reassuring smile. "You were telling me how sweet you were being and helping me with my stress issue. Go on."

"So I got up early and made you breakfast, but I was thinking that maybe the best thing would be to step away from the case. Espo and Ryan are perfectly qualified to lead the investigation. All the resources the NYPD have are already being used to track down Tyson – and it's clearly working – what do they really need us for?"

"You'd do this for me?" she murmured, sagging back against the side of her Dodge Charger when her emotions threatened to have awed tears fall from her eyes. She'd borne witness to the nights Castle had spent staring at news headlines reporting the return of 3XK, watched from beside him as he swallowed with guilt whenever someone asked to be filled in on the case background. She knew how important catching Tyson and putting him back behind bars was to Castle.

"For us, Kate, and for our future? Of course I want to do this. I thought maybe we could get away from the city for a bit even, leave the builders to finish with the loft-"

"-It was barely three months ago that we were on our honeymoon and you want to whisk me away again?" Kate asked, a breathless and joyful laugh sending her into his frame.

"Only to the Hamptons-"

"-Hotels and impromptu vacations? I don't think I'll ever get used to this, Castle."

"So is that a yes?" he asked, holding his breath until her hands cradled his forearms.

"If I can get the time off."

He lifted his eyes, saw her own glassy ones looking back at him, and stopped feeling hopeful as he noticed the disbelieving smile she sported. Beaming himself now, Castle wrapped his arms behind her and allowed his fingers to squirm and slide beneath her bulletproof vest, tugging her into a hug.

"It'll only be for a week or two," he assured her. "The guys can work on finishing off the loft while we're away. And you can run on the beach. And swim in the sea – or the pool! There's a gym in the town too. Plenty of exercise opportunities. And-"

"Rick, Relax. You don't have to sell it to me. I'm on board already."

He chuckled at himself and rubbed at the back of his neck, avoiding her soft gaze and the amused tick of the corner of her mouth. Perhaps he was a bit overzealous in his belief that Kate would need convincing, but in his defence it wasn't a common occurrence for her to agree with him whenever he made a suggestion about her using some of her vacation time. Impromptu trips to London and Charmonix never did go down well.

"Sorry."

Her fingers twitched, squeezing his arms.

* * *

><p>Ryan's exhale was audible to both of them as Kate led the way towards the officers swarming out of the warehouse unit. "I can't believe he wasn't there."<p>

"Probably a dodgy tip-off," Esposito muttered to the three of them as they stood around one of the cars, watching the SWAT team pile back into their trucks.

"Probably Tyson himself calling it in," Ryan said, kicking at a loose stone on the asphalt

"It was a guy who called it in?" Kate asked, receiving nods from both of the boys. "Didn't the officer on the call get any details?"

"It was on the Crime Stoppers hotline, Beckett."

"Damn!"

The anonymous call to the Crime Stoppers hotline meant that the call hadn't even been recorded or traced.

Sighing, she slung her arm through Castle's and offered the boys a wan smile. "Come on, guys, best head back to the precinct."

* * *

><p>"Bro, you know what's going on with Castle and Beckett?" Espo asked.<p>

"What do you mean?"

"I thought they'd be first ones in the warehouse but they both stayed out by the car. Castle didn't even say anything when we told them Tyson was gone. Don't you think Beckett was pretty quick to get into Gates' office?"

"She barely paused to drop her coat at her desk," Ryan agreed, spinning on his chair so he could see Beckett in the Captain's office. It was impossible to tell what the two women were discussing, however. "So what do you think it is?"

Espo stared sidelong at Castle occupying his usual seat beside Kate's desk and playing on his iPhone. He glanced at his computer screen. 10:40. "Huh."

"What?" Ryan twisted back to face his partner, finding Javi pointing his thumb covertly at Castle.

"It's 10:40."

"And…"

"Normally he'd be fixing Beckett with a coffee at this time. It's like clockwork. Coffee at ten thirty, one and four." Ryan nodded, but Espo continued. "And have you noticed them disappearing all the time?"

"They did leave early the other day."

"And it seems like Castle's hardly here anymore."

Esposito glanced again at the writer, noting this time the tense set of his shoulders and the repeated flick of his eyes towards Captain Gates' office. Following Castle's gaze, he studied Beckett.

"You don't think…"

"I do, Ryan. I do." Esposito sighed. "They're arguing."

The two of them looked sadly at Castle, the weight of their stares drawing his attention away from his phone.

"Everything okay, guys?"

"Yeah, bro, everything okay with you? You need to talk to us?"

Castle frowned, his head tilting as he glanced left and right for a moment. Slow to respond, he mumbled, "No, I'm fine." Their focus remained on him however, making him shift uncomfortably in his chair. "You guys find anything else on the warehouse?" he asked, trying not to show his disconcertion.

"Nope. Nothing to suggest Tyson has any prior involvement with the area or why he'd be hanging around there."

"You sure you're okay, Castle?" Ryan asked. "That's the fifth time in the last minute you just looked into Gates' office. You can tell us if you and Beckett are having problems."

"Pffft! Guys, we're fine."

"You sure you're not having a few disagreements? You haven't been around much lately."

"I've had meetings at Black Pawn and stuff to organise with the builders at the loft." The boys looks unconvinced by his weak explanation. "Guys, seriously," Castle said, forcing a laugh, "We're fine."

"I don't know. You look a bit green to me," Espo replied. "Almost like you're nervous. Like maybe you're lying. What's Beckett even talking to Gates about?"

"Why do you want to know?" Kate asked, not bothering to announce her presence and or smother her smirk as Ryan and Esposito both stiffened and looked at her with shaky grins, mumbling something about friendly concern. "If you must know I was talking to her about taking some time away from the case."

"Time away from the case?" the two of them exclaimed, horrified.

"Why would you wanna do that?" Espo demanded, looking between Rick and Kate in expectation as the two of them shared a look.

"Well, guys," Castle began, trying for a smile, "We're just feeling a little stressed out and thought taking some time for ourselves, a week or two on vacation would be a good idea."

"Yeah, you guys can handle the search without us, right?"

Ryan and Espo looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Can you believe them?" Espo asked. "Can we handle the search for Tyson," he quoted, making sure to laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Beckett. 'Course Ryan and I can handle it. We got it covered. On lockdown. On-"

"-I think they get it, Javi. Go, have fun, guys."

"Wait, did Gates approve the time off?" Castle asked.

"Ten days," she replied with a wide grin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed! Expect the next chapter soon!**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: I did say soon. ;)**

**I'm amazed that so many of you guys are still reading! Thank you so much! **

* * *

><p>"You're sure you don't want to come, Pumpkin?"<p>

Keeping the phone between his shoulder and ear, Rick folded up a second sweater and packed it into their suitcase.

"_Dad, I've got classes_," Alexis replied, laughing again. "_I can't just blow them off._"

"Sure you can!"

"_I like my classes. I _want _to go to them. You and Kate have fun though_."

He sighed, taking the phone in his hand again and resting the other on one of his hips. "I don't know where you learned such priorities but the offer's open if you change your mind."

"_Bye, Daddy_."

"Alexis still doesn't want to come with us then?" Kate asked, coming out of the bathroom and dropping a pile of plastic bottles filled with hair products and body washes into the open case on the bed.

"Do we really need all these? We've got shampoo and conditioner there already." A single look from his wife and he was backpedalling. "Okay, yep, we need them. Message received." The urge to salute had his fingers twitching at his sides. He had to do something. "I'll just go and grab a couple of books!"

There was a stack of them on his desk, all unread. A few complementary freebies from fellow authors, a few of them sent over from Black Pawn for his professional review and even a few someone in the house had purchased themselves and eventually forgotten about. He flipped through them and picked out the latest Patterson – not for himself but for Kate, knowing she'd enjoy the chance to read it in front of the fire, as well as something he identified as chick-lit by the cursive font the title was printed in in case she fancied a change of pace – before grabbing two of the novels Black Pawn wanted him to read.

When he returned to the bedroom, the suitcase was closed, bulging slightly in the middle. Kate bit her lip as he frowned.

"I think we need a second suitcase, Babe."

Lifting the first case off the bed, Castle groaned. "Jeez, Kate, what the Hell did you put in here? It weighs as much as a baby elephant!"

"Always so melodramatic, Castle." She tutted and shook her head, leaving him to take the suitcase to the front door and find a second bag for the books and his laptop.

* * *

><p>The drive to the Hamptons house passed in almost three hours of Castle singing along to the radio, while Kate enjoyed not driving for once, simply staring out the window waiting to see the sea and enjoying the view. The house looked just the same as Castle pulled onto the driveway, yet it still sent that same thrill through her and she looked at it with the same, wide-eyed awe she had when she first visited it. The difference was that she now owned it. Well, jointly-owned it.<p>

"Well, home sweet home," Castle said, killing the engine and twisting to grin at his wife. Her lips curved in response but none of her teeth showed until he pushed open his car door, allowing the tang of salty sea air into the Mercedes' interior.

Unslinging her seatbelt, Kate was quick to hop out of the car and take a deep breath, enjoying the lack of exhaust fumes in the crisp, fresh breeze, as Castle unloaded the trunk. He tossed her the keys once he had the suitcase and small bag out, and let her head eagerly to unlock the front door. The air was a little stale in the house, the space perhaps a bit dusty after months of disuse and inhabitation, but it was light and not filled with patchwork paintjobs or old rolls of carpet. As she walked through the house, almost learning its corners and angles all over again, Kate span and glanced back at Castle, a peel of laughter falling from her mouth as she almost fell over, only to be saved by one of his quick hands darting to grab her wrist and pull her back so hard she collided into his torso.

Breathless, she could only twist her fingers into his shirt and tug him closer to her.

"You okay?"

"Uh huh." She murmured the words into his neck, her nose and lips brushing against his skin with every syllable. "Castle?" Her tongue flicked over his pulse. His Adam's apple bobbed straight in front of her eyes as he swallowed and hummed a question. "You think you can turn the pool heating on?"

* * *

><p>While Castle hurried to the swimming pool and pulled off the cover, Kate took the stairs two at a time with the suitcase. While Castle had been choosing books, she'd taken certain <em>liberties <em>with the packing, one of which was the skimpy, navy bikini she hurried to pull on before grabbing some towels from the bathroom. The pool was still in the process of heating when she walked out onto the patio, immediately breaking out in a shiver.

Hearing her bare feet slapping on the paving slabs, Rick spoke up. "It's a good job the pool _has _heating. I completely forgot when I suggested coming up here how cold it would still be. The sea is going to be…" he broke off as he turned and saw her, mumbling, "Freezing," after a few seconds of gaping. "Wow."

She smirked openly for a moment before diving into the depths of the pool. It may have still not reached the optimum temperature but it still felt warmer than the January air. Kicking for the surface, Kate was delighted to see Castle still standing by the side of the pool, though now the front of his shirt was splattered with droplets of her splashback.

"You gonna just stand there or are you gonna join me, Castle?"

"My trunks are…" He gestured vaguely in the direction of the house, still not tearing his gaze from her sparkling, water-covered skin.

"I don't think you need swim trunks," she practically purred, reaching behind her back to undo the knot keeping her bikini secure.

He needed no further encouragement to shuck his clothes. His jittery hands made light work of his belt and jeans, though he hit a snag forgetting to untie and remove his shoes first.

"Oops."

He chuckled, bending forwards to try and wrestle the jeans off over his shoes only to fall straight into the pool.

"Christ, it's freezing!"

He was soon laughing instead of complaining though. It was hard not to when Kate was treading water beside him, naked from her hips up and not bothering to hold back her amusement by pressing together her lips or biting down on one of them. Instead, her laugh began in a snort from the back of her nose, increasing in pitch until her face was creased and her mirth had turned silent, signalled only by rushed gasps and a slight catch in her throat.

Tugging on his wet clothes, Rick pulled his wet shirt over his head and threw it at his wife, hoping to end her laughter. No such luck. She only doubled over in delight and ended up in hysterics with tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"You just- You toppled right over. You should have seen it, Castle. Limbs flailing everywhere," Kate finally said when she could catch her breath. A renewed bubble of laughter slipped from her lips as she wiped away the salt tracks under her eyes before the hilarity died down as Castle yanked his shoes off and lobbed them one by one onto the poolside, swiftly following up the throw with his sodden jeans too.

He swam towards her and pulled her into his arms.

"I know we didn't exactly get to our skinny dipping last time we were here, but really, in the middle of winter?"

"Who said we were just skinny dipping?"

He gulped, glancing down as he felt the backs of her fingers brush his stomach and hook in the waistband of his boxers.

* * *

><p>"I don't want to get out," Kate sighed, floating on her back for a moment. "It's going to be so cold." In the pool, the warm water lapped kindly against her ribcage. Parts of her body <em>were <em>exposed to the natural elements, but the sun was out and giving her some warmth.

Castle smiled, lips only pulled up slightly on the one side. "Gotta get out to eat at some point."

"I know." Kate exhaled loudly once more before rolling over and twisting her body to suspend vertically in the water. A few leisurely strokes brought her over to where he lounged against the side of the pool. "We could warm up in the shower though," she suggested, watching his face break out into a more roguish grin.

"I like the way you think, Mrs Castle."

"Shocking," she murmured, nudging her hip into his burgeoning arousal.

"3, 2, 1, go!"

Pushing on his hands, Rick launched his body out of the safety of the swimming pool and into the frigid air. It was torture on his sensitized, heated skin, but most of all on his erection which he feared might shrink or worse disappear altogether. Behind him, Kate let out a whelp as her feet touched the cold ground.

"Run!"

Forgetting to grab the towels, the two of them sprinted back towards the open side door, dissolving into laughter once more. Something about the Hamptons turned them into miscreants. If they weren't sneaking around behind their friends' backs, they were probably drawing the attention of everyone in the neighbourhood onto their naked escapades. The house and its promise of no interruptions apparently removed all their inhibitions.

"I think I've frozen my ass off," Rick complained between breaths as he skidded through the kitchen ahead of Kate.

"Looks good to me," Kate said as she sprinted past him, unable to resist slapping one of his butt cheeks. He yelped. "See, I told you."

"That's just cruel."

* * *

><p>"Admit it, I look like a lobster now," Castle said, gesturing to his torso as he pulled a fresh t-shirt over his head. While his skin was rather pink after the cold to hot combination, he wasn't nearly as red as a cooked crustacean.<p>

"You'll be fine, babe." Kate handed him a button-necked, knitted sweater from the suitcase, reminding him to wrap up warm.

"Okay, I'm gonna go fire up the barbecue and get the patio heater lit. I'll see you down there."

He kissed her cheek and squeezed her waist as he passed, his fingers lingering on her warm, bare back until his feet carried him too far away. Whistling, he jogged down the stairs and strolled out of the house in high spirits. He checked over the tank of gas in the fading afternoon light and tightened the hose from the regulator before letting out a steady stream of propane and lighting it. With the patio heater, providing warmth over the outdoor table, Castle switched focus to the barbeque. The lid creaked as he lifted it, reminding him that he'd been meaning to get the local handyman round with a bottle of WD40 to oil the hinges for quite some time. The grill was in perfect condition still though and he only needed to refill it with charcoal.

By the time Kate stepped out of the house, pulling her oversized cardigan tighter around her body, the coals were lit and in the process of turning white.

"So, chicken steaks or kebabs?"

"Either is fine," Kate murmured in reply, settling herself in one of the more plush chairs where she could curl up with one of their books. Her back faced the setting sun, missing some of the view, but its light shone over the pages of Patterson's newest thriller. Soon enough the sound of Castle chopping and slicing faded into the background until she was drawn from the mystery of _Cross My Heart _by repeated cussing at least. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine," Castle mumbled, his words distorted by the thumb in his mouth. "Just burnt myself trying to get the kebabs off the grill."

"Use the tongs." Marking her page, Kate set the book aside on the outdoor sofa and instead took her seat at the table. "This looks great, Babe." He beamed, setting down the plate loaded with spiced chicken and vegetable kebabs.

"I think there's some mulled cider in the fridge. You want some?"

"Sure, just a bit."

"It'll take a few minutes to heat through, but help yourself."

* * *

><p>"It's so quiet out here," Kate murmured, looking out over the garden and down to the coast.<p>

"People don't really come out to the beach very often in winter, Kate."

He was smirking, she knew he was. Rolling her eyes, she faced him again.

"I like it. Don't you?"

"I'm definitely enjoying being alone with you," Castle replied, reaching across the table for her hand. "Do you realise we can actually have a lie in tomorrow? No builders and decorators. No precinct." His lips split into a grin.

A soft silence fell between them; the only sound to be heard was the waves breaking on the shore. His lively fingers danced over her knuckles, rubbing back and forth over the ridge formed by her wedding ring.

"It's so relaxing."

"Well there's more of it to come. Come on, let's clear up and then I've got a surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" She smiled, tongue poking out. "It's not anything to do with the massage oil I found in the bag, is it?"

"You peaked?"

Ignoring his whine, Kate scooted her chair back and stood. "I finished packing the suitcase, remember? It's not peaking if you packed the case so badly that I had to re-do it, Castle." He still didn't look pleased. "Besides maybe I snuck a surprise of my own in."

Castle was on his feet in the blink of an eye. "I'll douse the barbecue."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any comments you may have would be really appreciated. I'm off now to watch the finale and then get started on chapter 37 for you guys! **


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate it!**

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><p>Bright, winter sun filtered through the blinds, harsh against his unaccustomed eyes as he woke to the sound of muted humming.<p>

_Use your mentality, wake up to reality. But each time I do just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin because I've got you under my skin_.

She was singing. In the shower. Kate was singing in the shower again. He grinned, unable to remember the last time he'd woken to hear her lovely voice vibrating off the glass and tile of the shower walls. Most days she barely had time for a shower, and on the rare occasion they were afforded a lie-in, she was usually so tired and beat from working a case that the shower was only of a functional purpose.

Stretching against the sheets, Castle listened as long as he could, and when he could stand it no longer he slipped from the bed and entered the bathroom. He watched from the doorway for a moment, appreciating the show as her body swayed enticingly under the spray as she crooned the next verse of Sinatra.

"Room for me in there?"

She paused and turned. "Castle, it's a double stall and there are two shower heads."

"Two shower heads just makes sense. And who would want a tiny shower they could hardly move in-"

Kate cut off his sales speech. "Not the point I was making, Rick." She crooked a finger and beckoned him in, meeting him at the sliding door with a kiss.

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?" Castle asked as Kate passed him his bottle of shampoo.

She hummed a yes, soaping his chest for him, one of her hands sweeping over his shoulder and around to the back of his neck.

"Only woke up because of the birds," she mumbled, pressing her lips to his other shoulder where she'd yet to cover him in suds. "I think there was a gull on the roof right above the window. You slept right through it, of course."

"You should have woken me. I'm more than happy to be up with you."

She arched an eyebrow. He waggled his own in turn and let go of the unused bottle of shampoo to sling his arms around his wife's midsection and rest his palm on her butt, tugging her in close as the bottle clattered and rolled around their feet.

* * *

><p>"I thought I might go for a run," Kate said as she descended the stairs, already wearing running tights and a windproof, thermal jacket.<p>

"You don't want the pancakes I made?"

"Pancakes?"

"Well, it's tradition. The perfect way to say thank you for a great night, remember?" She could hear the jokey lilt to his words before she saw him smirking. "Or a great morning?" His eyebrows danced up and down his forehead. "And," he added, drawing out the word, "There's no Jordan Show, Ryan, Esposito _or _body to disturb us this time. You could go running along the beach this afternoon when the tide's out and it's warmed up a bit?" he enticed and, taking his entreaty a step further when she didn't give in straight away, he picked up the plate of fresh pancakes, wafting them under Kate's nose.

"Okay, okay."

Sliding sideways onto one of the breakfast bar stools, Kate pulled a plate towards her and held out her hand for first dibs on the pancakes Rick still carried.

"Do you ever wonder what Jordan's up to?" Castle mused part way through breakfast.

"Not about to burst through the front door and disturb our vacation, I hope."

"She didn't burst through the door," Rick pointed out with a laugh. "That was the body, remember? I don't think I'll ever forget. It practically fell on me when I went for the paper, which reminds me, I never picked that up." Hopping out of his seat, Castle drained his glass of orange juice before weaving between the counter and cabinets until he disappeared from view in the hallway.

Kate heard the click of the lock and the second, quieter tick as the latch drew back. "Is there a body out there then?" she called, smiling to herself.

"You'll be relieved to know that it was just the paper," Castle answered, flashing the front of the newspaper at her, "Though I have yet to check that a cadaver didn't stagger into the pool overnight."

"I think that was probably a one-time thing, Babe."

"It better be a one-time thing," he muttered, grimacing as he remembered the way Randall Franklin had fallen into his swimming pool. Even after numerous cleanings and changes of water, he still often thought about the blood that had seeped out of Franklin's body and spread through the pool.

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><p>When he was done with the newspaper, Rick left it folded over on the kitchen counter should Kate want it, before disappearing into his study with his laptop to get some writing done. The last month or so of fear and disruptions had wreaked havoc on his schedule and left him with only two months to finish off <em>Deadly Heat<em>.

Kate had wandered off somewhere after breakfast. He hadn't checked, but he guessed she was at one of the windows with her book, attempting to get some serious reading done while she could. He still had a picture of her sat in one of the bay windows from the last time they'd been up to the house sitting on his desk that he looked at while waiting for his laptop to boot and connect to the internet. He had the great pleasure of researching how hot a fire had to be to burn a body but not incinerate it. He could have found the information in the Gordon Burns autopsy report had they been back at the precinct but he rather enjoyed worrying his internet service provider with his odd and concerning search history.

"Okay. Nikki be kind to me," he muttered, cracking his knuckles and wiggling his fingers in preparation.

"You think talking to her is gonna help?" The amused lilt to his wife's voice had his head shooting up to find her standing in the office doorway in her coat and scarf. "We're almost out of coffee grounds so I'm just gonna head into town to pick up some more. You want anything?"

"I'm good," Castle assured her, returning his attention to his laptop as Kate swung around the doorframe and left the house. But ten minutes later, he was out of his seat, in dire need of a muffin or something, anything to give him a brainwave of where to take his characters. He'd forgotten what Kate had said about the coffee until he pulled open a cabinet and lifted out the almost empty bag of coffee grounds. "Damn it." There wasn't even enough for one cup. Sighing, Rick resigned himself to a soda and mooched back to his study with the can cooling his palm.

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><p>"Jesus!" Castle jumped as a set of slim hands slid over his shoulders and squeezed. Whirling, he found his wife standing with a sheepish grin.<p>

"Brought you a coffee," she said. His gaze dropped and noticed her picking a steaming mug off his desktop to hold out before her like some meek peace offering.

"You could have just have said something." His heart still thumped against his ribcage, fright racing through his veins. One of Kate's eyebrows quirked and her lips ticked up at one side. "Oh. You did, didn't you?"

She nodded. "When I got back, when I asked if you wanted a coffee, when I brought it in here. You were in the zone."

"Sorry."

Kate waved him away and brought her own mug of coffee to her lips for a sip. "So, Nikki's treating you nicely now?"

He screwed up his face.

"Oh I get it," Kate said through a laugh. "You're sticking a wrench in Nikki's plan."

"Something like that," Castle mumbled, flicking his gaze back towards his laptop screen where he'd left his last sentence – and his characters quite literally – hanging.

"Well, just came to bring you that." She nodded at his coffee. "So I'll let you to get on." Squeezing his shoulder one last time, Kate backs away from the desk and leaves her husband to continue with his writing. She has plenty to keep her occupied, like unpacking the rest of the groceries she picked up in the town. The Hamptons house never was well-stocked unless they picked stuff up on the drive up, and all Castle had done the previous morning was take some things from the fridge back at the loft and stick them into a cooler bag which he then stuck in their suitcase. Now they had enough food for at least the first week of the mini break stocked in their kitchen and she could twist open a bottle of lemonade and pour it over a glassful of ice cubes for a refreshing drink out on the patio.

The wind was calm, the sea in the distance barely seeming to make waves. But it meant the sun was a gentle, warming caress on her face and her hands as she looked into the horizon and imagined holidays in the future. The pitter-patter of tiny feet running across the sun-heated paving slabs echoed in her mind with high-pitched peals of laughter and, "Daddy, No!"s as water splashed around her ankles and someone bombed into the pool.

It couldn't come soon enough.

Sighing, Kate turned her back on the view. She really needed to go for that run.

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><p>The next morning, Kate woke to the bristle of Castle's unshaven face against her shirt as he nestled in against her, one his thick thighs shifting further between her own legs. Instinct drove her body back into his, pulling him from his own sleep.<p>

"Mmm, Kate." She felt his mumble against the shell of her ear just as clearly as she felt his arm tighten around her middle, bringing their bodies fully flush against one another. "You can't tease me this early in the morning."

"Who said anything about teasing?" Kate asked breathlessly, unable to help the tight circle her hips moved in.

She'd been pinned beneath his frame before she knew a thing. His bruising kiss had her arching into him, giving his nimble fingers the space to push the large t-shirt she'd appropriated from him for sleep back off her body.

* * *

><p>"I'm exhausted," Castle complained from his back.<p>

Chuckling, Kate patted his face before shifting off the bed on admittedly wobbly legs. "Guess I'm making the pancakes this morning then?"

"I ca-"

"-It's fine. You make the batter too runny anyway."

Wounded, Castle clutched his chest. "I do _not_. I'll have you know that I have the perfect recipe-"

"-Oh yeah? From where?"

Castle was grudging as he admitted, "The internet."

"Uh huh. Just wait till you try my mom's recipe for orange spiced pancakes." She winked and ducked down to retrieve her clothes, pulling the faded grey shirt down until its hem rested against her thighs. Dressed once more, she only waggled her fingers at him before stepping out the door and down the stairs. Of course, she was only just pouring milk into a measuring jug when he came downstairs himself, his face following his messy hair in popping out of the neck of his t-shirt.

"Just getting the paper," he said as he bypassed the kitchen door.

He reappeared with a copy of _the_ _New York Times _and was quick to seat himself with the book reviews to wait while she finished frying the pancake batter. He was so engrossed in reading the critic's tearing apart of E L James' latest attempt at literature that the first thing he knew about his breakfast was when it was pushed around his open paper and the mouth-watering smell of fresh oranges wafted up to him.

"You know, this seems like an awfully summer-y breakfast," Castle told her, trying to talk down the plate of food. "Can't really eat it outside when the weather's like this." He pointed at the window, but Kate didn't follow his digit to the grey sky.

"You should just gracefully admit defeat. My pancakes are better than yours."

He gave her the stink eye, only breaking the contact to look down at his plate and take up his fork, being methodical as he used the edge of one of the prongs to cut a wedge of pancake. He inspected the fluffy cake, pretending he knew what he was doing, before he finally placed the piece in his mouth and moaned loudly, profanely. Kate smirked in response.

"Told you."

"I still wish I could eat them outside."

This time Kate did follow his gaze to the kitchen window and the rain that dribbled down the glass. At least it wasn't snowing, she thought to herself. Rain, she could run in. But snow?

"Spiced orange is a winter flavour, Castle," she murmured, grabbing for her own plate as she walked to the window and looked out to the stormy surf beyond.

The sea's surface was a jiving mess, hitching and rolling, waves crashing and slamming into each other as much as onto the shore. In the dark clouds and screen of rain, it was almost impossible to see the tide breaking on the shore. Had she blinked, Kate would have missed the two figures on the beach, one dragging the other through the sand.

"Castle? Something's happening on the beach."

Her urgent tone had him forgetting about his pancakes and leaping from his seat.

"We have to get out there!"

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><p>Biting wind and rain buffeted him every step of the way. The only way to see anything, the even breathe, was to turn his head to the side so the wind couldn't steal his breath. Even so, he was forced to lip read everything Kate yelled to him. The clatter of rain onto the hood of his raincoat was just too loud.<p>

"Over here!"

Castle followed his wife, or rather he followed Kate's footprints in the wet sand, as she led them over to what looked like a clump of rocks perhaps but soon turned out to be a woman deathly pale and unmoving. Kate squatted, fingers searching the woman's rain-covered neck for a pulse and finding none.

"She's dead."

"Really? Again?" Castle complained, unable to help glancing over his shoulder. He almost expect to find the Grim Reaper right there, because it sure seemed like death simply followed he and Kate wherever they went.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading guys! I've got two more days off from work this week so I hope to write and get the next chapter out to you soon. **


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